Subgenus Collessius Reinert, Harbach & Kitching, 2006
Aedes macfarlanei (Edwards, 1914), original combination: Ochlerotatus macfarlanei.
Subfamily Culicinae, tribe Aedini, genus Aedes. Subgenus Collessius includes 10 species divided between two species groups. Subgenus abbreviation – Col.
Subgenus Collessius, like most generic-level taxa of tribe Aedini, is diagnosed and distinguished by a combination of characters. The homoplastic characters that diagnose the Collessius clade in the phylogeny of Aedini recovered in the study of Reinert et al. (2009) are preceded by an asterisk (*). ADULTS – Vertex with narrow pale and dark decumbent scales; erect forked scales numerous on occiput and vertex; eyes contiguous or separated by less than width of 1 ocular facet; ocular line with narrow falcate pale scales; normally 4 or 5 interocular setae (occasionally 6 in Ae. elsiae elsiae); antennal pedicel with broad pale scales on mesal surface; clypeus bare; proboscis longer than forefemur, entirely dark-scaled or with patch of ventrolateral pale scales near mid-length; maxillary palpus of females pale-scaled at apex, palpus of males with 5 palpomeres, slightly shorter than proboscis; scutum largely covered with dark falcate scales, median prescutellar area without scales and *scutal fossa with sparse scales; acrostichal area and dorsocentral (anterior and posterior) area with well-developed setae; scutellum with narrow or broad scales on midlobe, narrow scales on lateral lobes; antepronotum with broad pale scales; hypostigmal area bare; postspiracular area with scales as well as setae; subspiracular area with pale scales (absent in Ae. pseudotaeniatus; sometimes absent in Ae. banksi); upper proepisternum with pale scales; paratergite narrow, with pale scales; mesokatepisternum and prealar area both with broad pale scales on upper and lower areas; mesepimeron with patch of broad pale scales on upper area extending onto middle of sclerite; lower mesepimeral setae absent; wing dark-scaled with narrow pale patch at or near base of anterior margin of costa; upper calypter with several setae; alula with marginal row of narrow dark scales; *anterior surface of midfemur with complete or nearly complete pale stripe; hindfemur with subapical pale scales; hindtarsomeres 1 and 2 with narrow basal and *apical pale bands; anterior and posterior ungues of fore- and midtarsi of females equal, each with tooth, these ungues of males unequal, larger one with 2 teeth, smaller with 1 tooth; laterotergite of tergum I with pale scales; terga II–V with narrow basal pale bands. FEMALE GENITALIA – Posterior margin of tergum VIII with apex nearly straight or broadly rounded, numerous broad scales on distal 0.3–0.4; sternum VIII with or without lanceolate scales, numerous broad scales usually present, seta 2-S inserted posterior to 1-S; tergum IX a single elongate or short and broad plate with median apical emargination and several setae on either side of midline distally; postgenital lobe relatively long and narrow, apex normally flat or with shallow median emargination, several setae borne distally; lower vaginal sclerite absent; insula lip-like with several setae in lateral patches; cercus moderately long and moderately wide throughout length, apex broadly rounded, scales present or absent; 3 spermathecal capsules. MALE GENITALIA – Tergum IX lobes *widely spaced, poorly sclerotised, each bearing several moderately long slender setae; gonocoxite moderately long and relatively narrow, mesal margin of dorsal surface without apical and basal lobes on mesal margin, lateral part of dorsal and most of ventral surfaces with broad scales; gonostylus attached apically, with single apical gonostylar claw, with or without 1 or more stout subapical setae; aedeagus simple, tube-like, equally wide from middle to apex or narrowed distally; proctiger with few minute cercal setae; claspette with moderately long columnar stem and curved apical claspette filament, stem with or without subapical, thumb-like lobe; sternum IX with several posteromesal setae. LARVAE – Antenna moderately long and narrow, with several to numerous spicules; seta 1-A normally with 2 or 3 branches (rarely single); setae 4–6-C inserted more or less at same level (in transverse line); seta 6-C lateral to seta 5-C; seta 7-C inserted posterolateral to setae 4–6-C; seta 12-C inserted mesal to seta 13-C; seta 13-C single, longer than seta 12-C; seta 14-C stout, normally single or double, occasionally triple; seta 19-C absent; setae 1–3-P on common setal support plate; seta 4-P single; seta 8-P branched, shorter than seta 4-P; seta 1-M,T stout or slender, single (*seta 1-M single) or branched, inserted on large pigmented tubercle in species of the Collessius Group; seta 5-M longer than seta 7-M; setae 2,6-T normally single; seta 6-I,II long, double, 6-II longer than seta 6-III; seta 7-I,II long, single (rarely double); seta 12-I present; seta 8-II single or double; setae 12-VII and 2,4-VIII single; comb with numerous scales in patch; siphon with attached acus, pecten with numerous close-set spines, seta 1-S single or branched, *longer than diameter of siphon, inserted proximal or distal to most distal pecten spine; saddle incomplete, with numerous stout spicules on dorsoposterior margin, acus absent; seta 1-X inserted on saddle; ventral brush (seta 4-X) attached to grid with both transverse and lateral bars, some species with 1 shorter seta anterior to grid. PUPAE – Setae 1,3-CT similarly developed; seta 11-CT normally single, rarely double; seta 3-I,II single or branched, longer than seta 6-I,II; seta 6-I shorter than seta 7-I; seta 5-II inserted lateral to seta 4-II; seta 3-III single (sometimes double in Ae. banksi); seta 5-V single, longer than following tergum; seta 2-VI inserted mesal to setae 1,3-VI or lateral to seta 1-VI and mesal to seta 3-VI; seta 6-VII inserted posteromesal to seta 9-VII; seta 9-VIII inserted at or slightly anterior to corner of segment; paddle rounded apically, midrib distinct to apex, without hair-like spicules on margins; seta 1-Pa single. See genus Aedes.
The phylogenetic relationships of subgenus Collessius are not well established. The subgenus was recovered as the sister to subgenus Gilesius and the sister pair, Collessius + Gilesius, was sister to subgenus Hulecoeteomyia in the cladistic analysis of Reinert et al. (2009) based morphological data and representatives of all generic-level taxa of tribe Aedini. Collessius and subgenera Gilesius, Hulecoeteomyia and Tanakaius comprised a polyphyletic clade in the phylogeny of Wilkerson et al. (2015). Collessius was not recovered as a monophyletic lineage in the maximum likelihood phylogeny of Soghigian et al. (2017) based on seven molecular markers. Two species of the Alloeomyia Group were recovered in a sister relationship with two species of subgenus Hulecoeteomyia and two species of the Collessius Group were sister to two species of subgenus Rhinoskusea. The Alloeomyia and Collessius Groups were also found to be more closely related to other taxa than to each other in a phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA COI sequences (Somboon et al., 2023).
The immature stages are normally found in rock pools, but are sometimes found in tree holes and artificial containers such as concrete water tanks, cement sinks and gutters, drains, iron cistern and tires. The females of some species bite humans both indoors and outdoors.
Species of subgenus Collessius are of no known medical or economic importance.
Species of subgenus Collessius are distributed in the Oriental Region and the Manchurian Subregion of the Palaearctic.
Reinert et al., 2006, 2009 (as genus, morphology, phylogeny); Reinert, 2008 (as genus, female genitalia); Rattanarithikul et al., 2010 (as genus, Thailand, keys, bionomics); Wilkerson et al., 2015 (phylogeny, classification); Soghigian et al., 2017 (phylogenetic relationships).
Alloeomyia Group (see).
Collessius Group (see).