Subgenus Phytotelmatomyia Rossi & Harbach, 2008
Culex renatoi Lane & Ramalho, 1960.
Subfamily Culicinae, genus Culex. Subgenus Phytotelmatomyia includes four species. See Culex classification, Subgenus Phytotelmatomyia). Subgenus abbreviation – Phy.
ADULTS – The scutum has a pattern of pale scales, principally on the margins, which is inconspicuous in Cx. castroi and Cx. machadoi. Females have a patch of pale scales on the maxillary palpus, except in Cx. castroi and Cx. machadoi which lack pale scales, and a pale patch or band is more or less evident on the proboscis. The tarsi have broad bands across the joints (except in Cx. castroi and Cx. machadoi). The postgenital lobe of the female genitalia[no-lexicon]/ is trapezoidal, at least in Cx. castroi, Cx. hepperi and the two undescribed species. MALE [no-lexicon]GENITALIA – Differ from Phenacomyia, and are similar to various Culex species, in having setae e and f on the subapical lobe of the gonocoxite. The male genitalia otherwise do not exhibit distinctive characteristics except for the number of teeth on the lateral plate of the phallosome and the number of setae in the ninth tergal lobes. LARVAE – Setae 2–4-A forked or bifid; antenna very short, less than third length of head, nearly cylindrical, seta 1-A relatively small with multiple branches; seta 1-C short, stout, branched or forked; seta 4-C long, reaching anterior margin of head, fan-like, developed similar to setae 5,7-C; maxilla short, stout, seta l-Mx inserted 0.60 from base; maxillary brush relatively short, slightly shorter than maxillary body, spiculose area lateral to seta 5-Mx poorly developed; seta 0-P large, inserted posterior to seta 5-P; seta 3-P multiple branched, short, about third length of seta 1-P; seta 4-P similar to seta 3-P; setae 14-P, 1-M,T and 1-I,II usually with multiple branches; seta 1-I,III multiple branched; seta 7-II long, similar to seta 7-I; saddle largely covered with spicules that grade into long spicules posteriorly, especially dorsally; ventral brush (seta 4-X) comprised of 4 pairs of setae. PUPAE – Seta 1-CT significantly longer than setae 2,3-CT; seta 7-II as long as seta 6-II; seta 5-IV as long as seta 5-V,VI, about 1.5 length of following tergum; paddle spiculate on anterior 0.4 of surface, with distinct serrations posteriorly on margins of inner and outer parts. See genus Culex.
Phytotelmatomyia is a distinct monophyletic group that appears to have its closest affinities with subgenera Culex and Phenacomyia. In the cladistic analyses of morphological data conducted by Harbach et al. (2012), species of Phytotelmatomyia were placed in a clade comprised of three species of the Pipiens Group of subgenus Culex and two species of subgenus Phenacomyia in the relationship Cx. chidesteri + (Cx. dolosus + (Phytotelmatomyia + (Cx. janitor + Phenacomyia))).
Adults are attracted to humans, but have never been collected inside or outside houses or in CDC light traps. Immature stages of Cx. hepperi, Cx. castroi and Cx. renatoi were found in two species of Eryngium in Punta Lara, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Eggs are deposited in small rafts of 4–8 eggs or single eggs are found in different axils. They are small but generally resemble the eggs of species of subgenus Culex.
Whether or not species of subgenus Phytotelmatomyia are of medical importance is unknown.
Neotropical Region, along the Río Paraná Basin from Brazil to Argentina, including Paraguay and Uruguay.
Rossi & Harbach, 2008 (diagnosis, characteristics, bionomics, distribution, phylogenetic relationships); González et al., 2023 (Neotropical subgenera of Culex, comparative morphology).
castroi Casal & García, 1967 hepperi Casal & García, 1967 machadoi da Silva Mattos, da Silveira Guedes & Xavier, 1978 renatoi Lane & Ramalho, 1960
