Subgenus Decamyia Dyar, 1919
Wyeomyia onidus Dyar & Knab, 1909 [junior synonym of Wyeomyia ulocoma (Theobald, 1903)].
Subfamily Culicinae, genus Wyeomyia. Subgenus Decamyia includes six species. Subgenus abbreviation – Dec.
Species of Decamyia have not been studied in detail, particularly the immature stages; the following combinations of features should distinguish the three known species from species of the other subgenera of Wyeomyia. ADULTS ‒ Proboscis short, 0.65‒0.75 length of forefemur, expanded distally; scutum dark-scaled; paratergal scales present; antepronotum dark-scaled at least dorsally; lower mesokatepisternal setae extend above dorsal margin of mesomeron; upper calypter of wing with marginal setae. MALE GENITALIA ‒ Tergum IX lobes not developed, delineated by foliform setae (resembling fusiform or spatulate scales); gonocoxite with long lateral seta and 1 (?) or 2 setae representing tergal triad; gonostylus with long stem, apical lobes not well developed; paraproct with 1 or 2 apical teeth, cercal setae present. LARVAE ‒ Setae 4‒6-C single or branched, widely separated, 6-C inserted anterior to seta 7-C; seta 1-A single, inserted beyond mid-length of antenna; maxilla without apical tooth; seta 14-C inserted on level with seta 15-C; seta 11-P,M branched, 11-T single, spine-like; seta 4-T multi-branched; seta 13-T multi-branched, about as long as thorax; seta 2-I,III branched, seta 2-II,IV‒VII short, single, seta 2-III‒VII inserted mesad of seta 1 but not near midline of segment, inserted noticeably anterior to setae 1 and 4; seta 9-I‒VI branched; seta 13-II‒VI inserted posterior to other ventral setae, 13-III‒VI inserted on level with or anterior to seta 7; comb plate absent, comb scales in 2 of 3 rows; siphon with 2 posterolateral rows of pecten spines; saddle with posterolateral spines; seta 4-X noticeably shorter than setae 1‒3-X, branched. PUPAE ‒ Cephalothorax and abdomen without spots; seta 1-I strongly developed, with 3 or 4 primary stems and numerous apical branches; seta 2-II inserted between and on same level or slightly anterior to setae 1 and 3, seta 2-III‒VII inserted very near posterior margin of tergum, inserted mesad of seta 1, seta 2-III inserted far mesad of seta 1; seta 6-II single, long, at least twice as long as seta 7-II, seta 6-VII inserted on tergum posterior to seta 9-VII; paddle relatively long, longer than 1.5x greatest width, margins fringed entirely with long filamentous spicules. See genus Wyeomyia.
Decamyia was recovered as a monophyletic group in a sister relationship to a clade comprised of subgenera Menolepis, Prosopolepis, two species without subgeneric placement (Wy. melanocephala and Wy. negrensis) and Onirion personatum in the morphology-based phylogenetic analyses of Motta et al. (2007).
The immature stages of Decamyia species are predominantly found in the flower bracts and axils of Heliconia species. They have also been found in bromeliads (Wy. felicia, Wy. pseudopecten, Wy. ulocoma); axils of Aracea (Araceae) and Calathea (Marantaceae) (Wy. pseudopecten); leaf axils of palm, fallen palm spathes, leaf axils of banana (Wy. felicia); and split bamboo sections and tree holes (Wy. ulocoma) (Heinemann & Belkin, 1977, 1978a, 1978b, 1978c, 1979; Heinemann et al., 1980; Pecor et al., 2000; Linton et al., 2013). Little is known about the bionomics of the adults. Females of Wy. ulocoma have been taken on humans in Suriname (Panday, 1975) and Wy. pseudopecten has been captured on humans in Suriname and Peru (Panday, 1975; Pecor et al., 2000, respectively).
Species of Decamyia are recorded from countries in northern South America and Central America southward from Guatemala, Honduras and the Caribbean. Wyeomyia felicia is known to occur in Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela; and Wy. pseudopecten has been found in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Wyeomyia ulocoma is recorded from most of the countries where Wy. pseudopecten is known to occur, but has not been reported from Brazil, and is the only species recorded from the Dominican Republic.
Harbach & Peyton, 1990 (comparative morphology); Motta et al., 2007 (morphology, phylogenetic relationships); Ribeiro et al. 2020 (morphology, molecular taxonomy).
anthica Ribeiro, Pavan, da Silva, Galvão, Lourenço-de-Oliveira & Motta, 2021
felicia (Dyar & Nuñez Tovar, 1927
monticola Ribeiro, Lourenço-de-Oliveira & Motta, 2022 (in Ribeiro et al., 2022)
pseudopecten Dyar & Knab, 1906
rorotai Senevet, Chabelard & Abonnenc, 1942
ulocoma (Theobald, 1903)
