Aedes marshallii (Theobald, 1901), original combination: Stegomyia marshallii.
Subfamily Culicinae, tribe Aedini, genus Aedes. Subgenus Albuginosus includes nine species. Subgenus abbreviation – Alb.
The following distinctive features distinguish subgenus Albuginosus from the other aedine taxa. Asterisks indicate the homoplastic characters that define Albuginosus (based on the morphology of Ae. marshallii and Ae. ngong) in the phylogenetic study of Reinert et al. (2009). ADULTS ‒ Vertex and occiput of head with numerous long erect forked scales; antennal pedicel with a large mesal patch of overlapping silvery-white scales*, setae absent; maxillary palpus and proboscis of females dark-scaled; maxillary palpus of males long, apical 2 palpomeres short and downturned, ventral surface at apex of palpomere 3 and ventral surface of palpomere 4 with several long setae, palpomere 5 with a basal pale band; scutum with both narrow and broad scales*; anterolateral margins of scutum usually with broad silvery-white scales; acrostichal setae (anterior and posterior) present and well developed; scutellum usually with flat silvery-white scales at least on lateral lobes; subspiracular area with a patch of silvery-white scales; wing with spot of silvery-white scales at base of costa present or absent; males with dorsal tertiary fringe scales on proximal 0.50 of wing*; hindtarsomeres 1‒4 each with apical white band, hindtarsomere 5 all white; abdominal terga of males with numerous long setae*. FEMALE GENITALIA ‒ Tergum VIII with basal 0.55-0.90 retracted into segment VII, proximal margin nearly straight or slightly concave, caudal margin broad and straight or very slightly concave; proximal margin on sternum VIII moderately broad and more or less straight, distal margin broad and convex with a moderately deep median emargination, index 0.62-0.79; upper vaginal lip narrow, upper lateral area sharply convex, posterior margin flat with squared lateral angles; upper vaginal sclerite present*, large, moderately wide throughout length and fenestrated; insula tongue-like, setae absent*, with 3‒11 tuberculi; spermathecal eminence membranous, large and more or less triangular with angles broadly rounded; postgenital lobe moderately long and moderately wide with a moderately deep to deep median emargination; cercus short, moderately wide, apex broadly rounded, basal area widest, scales absent. MALE GENITALIA ‒ Tergum IX bilobed, each lobe broadly rounded with 3‒8 stout apical setae; gonostylus approximately 0.44‒0.66 length of gonocoxite, median part noticeably broader than proximal part*, tapering from about midlength to narrow, mesally curved, bluntly pointed apex; gonostylar claw spiniform, long, heavily pigmented, bluntly rounded, inserted on mesa1 margin near middle of gonostylus*; basal mesal lobe with several short thin setae and 4‒9 short stout lanceolate setae; aedeagus divided into 2 lateral plates, each with 5‒8 posteriorly directed teeth on apical 0.5, dorsal flap present. LARVAE ‒ Head broad at ocular bulge*, about as broad as long; ratio of length of seta 7-C to median length of dorsal apotome 0.41−0.81*; seta 14-C branched*; seta 4-P as long or shorter than seta 3-P*; seta 1-S inserted immediately beyond pecten; saddle incomplete; seta 2-X long, with 1‒5 branches; seta 3-X single, significantly longer than seta 2-X; ventral brush (seta 4-X) with 3‒4 pairs of setae on grid and 2 or 3 precratal setae. PUPAE ‒ Known for only 4 of the 9 species of Albuginosus. Seta 11-CT, 3-I,II and 6-III single; seta 6-I longer than seta 7-I; seta 3-II thick or thicker than seta 1-II; midrib of paddle strong, extending to or near apex of paddle; seta 1-Pa present, single, about 0.33 length of paddle. See Aedes.
Albuginosus fell within a pectinate series of taxa in the cladistic analysis of Reinert et al. (2009) based on extensive morphological data: Polyleptiomyia + (Bifidistylus + (Albuginosus + (Tewarius + (Christophersiomyia + (Huaedes + Leptosomatomyia))))). The relationships of these seven subgenera were weakly supported by suites of homoplastic characters, and were lost in the reanalysis of Wilkerson et al. (2015).
The usual habitats of the immature stages are plant containers, including tree holes, rot holes, bored and cut bamboo, axils of bananas and cavities in palm and fig trees.
Species of subgenus Albuginosus are not known to be of medical or economic importance to humans. However, Bunyamwera virus has been isolated from a mixed pool of aedine species in Cameroun that included Ae. capensis, and Middleburg virus has been isolated specimens of Ae. marshallii captured in Natal, South Africa (references listed in Huang & Rueda, 2015).
Afrotropical Region.
Reinert, 1987 (taxonomy); Reinert, 2000 (female genitalia); Reinert et al., 2004 (as genus, morphology, phylogeny); Reinert et al., 2009 (as genus, morphology, phylogeny); Huang & Rueda, 2015 (key to adults); Wilkerson et al., 2015 (phylogeny, classification).
capensis Edwards, 1924 gilliesi van Someren, 1962 haworthi Edwards, 1923 kapretwae Edwards, 1941 kennethi Muspratt, 1956 marshallii (Theobald, 1901) ngong van Someren, 1950 stokesi Evans, 1929 (nomen novum for occidentalis Evans, 1926) teesdalei van Someren, 1954