Genus Diceromyia Theobald, 1911
Diceromyia africana Theobald, 1911 [subjective synonym of Diceromyia furcifer (Edwards, 1913)].
Subfamily Culicinae, tribe Aedini. Diceromyia includes eight species (the genus was limited to these species by Reinert et al. (2009). Genus abbreviation – Di.
Characters that diagnose Diceromyia in the phylogeny of Aedini recovered in the study of Reinert et al. (2009) are indicated by an asterisk (*). ADULTS – Vertex with broad pale decumbent scales; maxillary palpus about as long as proboscis, usually with median pale band and small basal pale spot in females, maxillary palpus of males straight with pale bands at bases of palpomeres 3–5; *proboscis with pale band near mid-length; scutum with areas of narrow (sometimes rather board) pale scales; *prescutellar area with median and/or posterior scales; acrostichal setae and dorsocentral setae strong and numerous; paratergite and all lobes of scutellum (except in Di. flavicollis) with broad pale scales; postpronotum, postspiracular area, subspiracular area and *upper prealar area with broad pale scales; lower mesepimeral setae present; costa of wing *entirely dark-scaled or *speckled with pale scales, scales very broad in some species, alula with broad scales on *margin and *dorsal surface, *mixture of dark and pale dorsal tertiary fringe scales; *postprocoxal setae present; femora, tibiae and hindtarsomere 1 speckled (dark in Di. fascipalpis); tarsomeres 1–4 of all legs and hindtarsomere 5 with basal pale bands; foreungues toothed in both sexes; abdominal terga usually with basal pale bands or pale median spot and basolateral pale patches, band becoming subbasal laterally in all species except Di. fascipalpis; sterna dark-scaled or speckled with basal pale band. FEMALE GENITALIA – Segment VIII not completely retracted into segment VII; sternum VIII with straight posterior margin; sternum IX a *single transversely crescent-shaped sclerite, anterior margin convex; postgenital lobe not emarginate at apex. MALE GENITALIA – Gonocoxite with conspicuous apical scale-tuft (except in Di. fascipalpis), with *ventromesal row or patch of long broad scales, basal dorsomesal lobe poorly formed except in Di. fascipalpis, mesal surface membranous; gonostylus *attached subapically, *broad proximally, *with elongate lobe on lateral surface, gonostylar claw inserted at or before middle, flattened and leaf-like; claspette long, basally enlarged, number and nature of setae variable; *aedeagus comprised of 2 lateral plates, apparently fused apically, with numerous lateral and apical teeth. LARVAE – Antenna spiculate, seta 1-A with few branches; *seta 4-C inserted posterior to seta 6-C; *seta 6-C inserted at same level or posterior to seta 7-C; *seta 4-P branched, *as long as or shorter than seta 3-P; *seta 5-P longer than seta 6-P; setal support plate of meso- and metapleural setal groups with spine; *seta 1-VII inserted on posterior 0.45 of tergum near seta 1-VII; *seta 3-VIII single; comb scales in single row; ventral brush (seta 4-X) poorly developed, *precratal setae absent; siphon short; pecten spines evenly spaced. PUPAE – *Seta 1-CT weakly developed, considerably shorter than seta 3-CT; *seta 5-CT >1.3 length of seta 4-CT; *seta 3-III as long as or shorter than seta 5-III; *seta 2-VI inserted lateral to seta 1; *seta 1-Pa ≥ 0.80 length of paddle. See Aedini.
Diceromyia was recovered as sister to Ayurakitia in the phylogenetic study of Aedini by Reinert et al. (2009) based on extensive morphological data of adults, larvae and pupae. In the phylogeny generated by Wilkerson et al. (2015), Diceromyia was placed within a polytomy that included subgenera Ayurakitia, Belkinius, Borichinda, Bothaella, Catatassomyia, Cornetius, Dendroskusea, Heizmannia, Isoaedes, Petermattinglyius, Pseudarmigeres, Scutomyia and Stegomyia, Udaya and Zeugnomyia. As the Malagasy species were recently transferred to the new genus Paulianius, Diceromyia may share affinities with Paulianius. In the absence of species of Paulianius, Diceromyia was recovered as sister to a clade comprised of Petermattinglyius + (Cornetius + Lorrainea) in the maximum likelihood phylogeny of Soghigian et al. (2017) based on seven molecular markers.
Females of some species bite humans, at ground level and in or just below forest canopy, mainly during the night hours. The immature stages are found mainly in tree-holes, occasionally in artificial containers and rarely in plant axils.
Diceromyia furcifer and/or Di. taylori are involved in the monkey-to-human transmission of Yellow Fever virus in the Gambia (Germain et al., 1980). They are vectors of Chikungunya and Dengue type 2 viruses in Senegal (Diallo et al., 1999; Diallo et al., 2003); they have been incriminated as vectors of Yellow Fever virus in Burkina Faso, Mali and the Sudan and Chikungunya virus in Zimbabwe and South Africa; and are known to harbour Zika, Bouboui and Bunyamwera viruses in Senegal and Dengue type 2 virus in the Ivory Coast (Roche et al., 1983; Robert et al., 1993; and references cited in Jupp, 1996). However, the species previously identified to as taylori in the eastern Africa (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania) and South Africa (Natal) is Di. cordellieri; consequently, the identity of the species associated with arboviruses in the Sudan, Zimbabwe and South Africa requires confirmation (Huang, 1986).
Sub-Saharan Africa.
Reinert, 1970 (as subgenus of Aedes, in part, Afrotropical Region); Huang, 1986 (as subgenus of Aedes, Furcifer Group, taxonomy); Jupp, 1996 (as subgenus of Aedes, southern Africa, taxonomy); Reinert, 2000 (as subgenus of Aedes, in part, female genitalia); Reinert et al., 2004, 2009 (generic status, morphology, phylogeny); Huang & Rueda, 2016 (as subgenus of Aedes, medical importance, key to adults); Wilkerson et al., 2015 (as subgenus of Aedes, phylogeny); Soghigian et al., 2017 (as subgenus of Aedes, phylogenetic relationships).
adersi (Edwards, 1917) bananea (Wolfs, 1958) cordellieri (Huang, 1986) fascipalpis (Edwards, 1912) flavicollis (Edwards, 1928) furcifer (Edwards, 1913) mefouensis (Ferrara, 1974) taylori (Edwards, 1936)
