Aedes maehleri Bohart, 1957.
Subfamily Culicinae, genus Aedes, subgenus Stegomyia. The Maehleri Group includes two species.
Species of the Maehleri Group are characterised and distinguished by the following combination of characters (based on Bohart, 1957 and Basio & Reisen, 1971). ADULT MALES (females unknown) ‒ Vertex of head with double row of pale scales and dark scales on either side; maxillary palpus with pale bands, short, about 0.67 length of proboscis; proboscis entirely dark-scaled (Ae. maehleri) or with small ventral pale spot at base (Ae. burnsi); scutum entirely dark-scaled; scutellum with pale scales on midlobe, darker scales on lateral lobes; antepronotum and postpronotum with patches of broad pale scales; patches of pale scales on paratergite, upper proepisternum, mesokatepisternum (2 in Ae. maehleri; 4 in Ae. burnsi) and mesepimeron; wing dark-scaled; femora each with knee spot; fore- and midtarsomeres 1 and 2 (Ae. maehleri) or 1‒3 (Ae. burnsi) with basal pale bands, hindtarsomeres 1‒5 with narrow (Ae. maehleri) or broad (Ae. burnsi) basal pale bands; abdominal terga II‒VII with basolateral pale patches, may be prolonged mesad on posterior terga to form incomplete basal bands; sterna with basal pale bands. MALE GENITALIA ‒ Ninth tergal lobes widely separated by deep concavity, each with many short fine setae; gonocoxite broad, basal mesal lobe bearing numerous fine setae. LARVAE ‒ Antenna without spicules, surface smooth; seta 1-A inserted beyond mid-length; setae 5,6-C single (Ae. maehleri) or double (Ae. burnsi); comb plate present (? Ae. maehleri) or absent, comb scales in single row; siphon short, stout, more or less cylindrical, pecten on proximal 0.75, seta 1-S short, branched, inserted beyond pecten; setae 2,3-X multi-branched, short, about a long as saddle, ventral brush (seta 4-X) with 8 or 9 multi-branched setae. PUPAE (based on Ae. maehleri) ‒ Seta 1-I with relatively few branches; paddle short, rounded apically, distal 0.67 of outer margin and distal 0.33 of inner margin with conspicuous fringe; seta 1-Pa long, about half length of midrib. See subgenus Stegomyia.
The affinities of the Maehleri Group are unknown and will remain so until the species and species groups of subgenus Stegomyia are better known. However, Sota & Mogi (2006) gleaned some insight into evolutionary relationships from analyses of COI mtDNA and 16S and 28S rRNA sequences obtained from 11 species of Stegomyia, including Ae. maehleri. Their results revealed that An. maehleri is a distinct lineage within the Scutellaris Group, with closer association with species of the Albopictus and Scutellaris Subgroups than to other species of the subgenus included in the analyses.
Larvae of Ae. maehleri have only been found in pitcher plants, and those of Ae. burnsi have only been found in the axils of Pandanus. Nothing is known about the bionomics of the adults.
Only recorded from Yap (Ae maehleri) in the western Caroline Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Guam (Ae. burnsi), the southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia.
Bohart, 1957 (Ae. maehleri, description, distribution, larval habitat, identification ‒ keys for adults, male genitalia, pupae and larvae of mosquitoes in Micronesia); Basio & Reisen, 1971 (Ae. burnsi, description, larval habitat, distribution).
burnsi Basio & Reisen, 1971
maehleri Bohart, 1957