Entomology. New species of mosquitoes from Brazil

Entomology. New species of

mosquitoes from Brazil*

 

I – Culex spinosus Lutz (Female)

Total length 4mm, without the proboscis, which measures a little over 2mm.

Proboscis – Uniformly swollen from base to apex, covered above and below with dark colored scales with a somewhat metallic reddish-bronze shine, plus some sparse scales almost white in color. Basally, on its ventral side, there are some longer hairs. Labella also bronze-colored, but lighter, with many fine hairs.

Antennae – Flagellum dark-brown, covered with fine, whitish hairs, the verticils darker, with white shine.

Antennal torus and clypeus ochre-black, with a plumbeous shine.

Palpi – Covered with well-prominent scales, of the same color as those of the proboscis, and some dark hairs.

Occiput – In its anterior portion with some larger hairs of very dark color; in its central part, over a black background, with many spindle-shaped, narrow, long and curved scales, cream-colored and somewhat golden, and, among these, erect,long and narrow scales with bifurcated tip. The color of the latter is dark, but with golden and silvery shine. Laterally and in the mentum region, scales are shorter and whiter, milk-colored, and there are some lighter hairs.

Prothoracic lobes – Dark, with scales similar to those on the thorax and hairs somewhat dark.

Mesonotum – Groundcolor dark, but with a whitish shine, covered with spindleshaped,long, narrow and curved scales, which are either cream-colored or very dark golden. The former draw, at each side, a somewhat irregular line, running from the anterior, submedian region to the origin of wings. There are two submedian lines, diverging in the anterior part, where the dark background appears, free from scales. Between them there is a double row of sparse hairs and two other rows at the external sides. Posterior part of the thorax of a lighter color, most scales being cream-colored.

Scutellum – Scales numerous, similar to those of the thorax; in its posterior part prevail cream-colored scales; median lobe with 6 thick and long hairs, plus 4 at either side; scutellar groundcolor lighter than those of mesonotum and metathorax.

Pleura – Groundcolor ochre, with white shine, and irregularly spotted with black; among these black spots, there are, over a clear background, groups of spathulate, oboval scales, of a mother-of-pearl white color, and some golden hairs. Thus are formed 3 parallel, longitudinal stripes, less distinct than those of pleuristriatus. Coxae covered, on the outer side, by the same scales, crossed by a median row of dark hairs. The groundcolor, as that of the trochanter, is light-ochre, with silvery shine.

Legs – Generally dark-colored, except for the ventral surface of the femora,which is whitish, remainder ventral surfaces also clearer, with bronze shine; knees with spots on the upper side, principally occupying apex of femora; there exist other spots, formed by white scales, especially distinct on the apex of the hind tibia, less evident in the fore tibiae. Tarsal basis presenting clearer rings in the hind leg, these rings lack in the fore legs; femora of the first two pairs somewhat spaced and laterally compressed in the dorsoventral diameter; femora of the third pair slender and slightly curved. The legs present stiff hairs and fine, sparse spines, grouped in certain joints; they are especially visible, even to the naked eye, in the hind tibiae, their color in that place being distinctly yellow.

Claws similar and unarmed, longer in the two fore pairs.

Abdomen – Black above, with golden apical hairs, which, macroscopically,seem basal bands; below there are basal spots of white color, laterally placed, the median line being dark and covered with golden hairs. These lateral spots may show a little on the dorsal side, but only on the last segments. The first segment is not so narrow and prominent as in many other species and shows many golden hairs. The last segments are usually invaginated, showing only a little or not at all.

Wings – Lateral scales as in Culex, showing the form of spines on the apical half of the dorsum; first forked cell very long, its stem less than 1/4 of its length; second forked cell forked a little smaller than its stem; vein a slightly curved, with the concavity directed outwards; b transversal, forming with a a less obtuse angle than usual; c near the origin of the wing by a distance twice its length.

 

(Male)

Antennae densely plumose; palpi with a small basal article and four longer ones; tip of second article white; third slightly white at base and with many white scales on the ventral side of the apical half, but with a dark apex covered with dark hairs; 4th and 5th articles densely covered with long hairs, dark above, more whitish below and with some white scales especially at the base.

Proboscis with a whitish ring a little beyond the middle. The four fore claws unequal, but unarmed.

Note – This species has been reared many times from larvae found in small collections of water stored in the base of leaves of Criocaulon vaginatum and Eryngium alvofolium. The first plant lives in bogs; the second in the fields and is the only dicotyledon in which, up to now, we have found mosquito larvae.

The larva is very active and has a very long breathing tube; it is frequent in São Paulo and undoubtedly in many other places.

The perfect insect, from the descriptions, has many points in common with C.secutor Theob.; it is, however, different and has not the aggressive and bloodthirsty habits attributed to the latter.

 

II – Culex lugens Lutz (Female)

Total length 2.5mm, without the proboscis, which measures 1.5mm.

Proboscis – Black, with swollen apex, covered with dark scales, among which there are fine and dark hairs, more abundant in the labella.

Palpi – Black, covered with dark scales with pale reflexes of a polished copper hue.

Antennae – Longer than the proboscis, of a dark-brown color, with very visible articles and dark verticils.

Torus and clypeus – Very dark.

Occiput – Very dark in groundcolor, covered with flat, spathulate scales with a pale silvery, golden and copper shine, among which there are a few spindle-shaped,long, and black scales and erect, long and bifurcated ones in larger number. The sides and the mentum region are somewhat lighter; in all those regions there are dark hairs.

Prothoracic lobes and mesonotum – Groundcolour brown, almost black, the latter covered with long, narrow and curved scales; the color is light-brown with a bronze shine, sometimes a tint of light-copper, passing to cream posteriorly and on the scutellum; in the latter there are many long, thick and dark hairs, 6 of them situated on the margin of the median lobe.

Metanotum – Very dark, with whitish shine.

Pleura – Dark, with very light spindle-shaped scales, passing from golden to milky-white.

Abdomen – Almost black above, a little paler below. On the dorsal surface the dark background is covered with flat, very dark, iridescent scales, with rose and pale-bluish reflexes. The apical hairs of the segments are dark with a goldenyellow shine in the last segments; below, the scales are lighter, with pale iridescent reflexes; laterally there are small white spots occupying the basal half of the segments. The first abdominal segment is narrow and more or less prominent.

Wings – With dark scales, the lateral ones with the general form found in the genus Culex, modified only on the ultimate apex, where they are closer to those of the genus Taeniorhynchus; the forked cells are about 4, and less than 2 times longer than their respective stems. Veins a and b almost horizontal, forming an obtuse angle, open towards the base; c near the origin of wing by a distance over twice its own length.

Halteres – Color a pale ochre, with partly brown, partly golden scales.

Legs – Almost entirely very dark, but with lighter metallic reflexes; all the femora somewhat curved and twisted, the fore four laterally compressed and thickened on the dorsoventral aspect.

Claws equal and toothless, a little longer on the two anterior pairs.

 

(Male)

Antennae more plumose, the palpi dark, longer than the proboscis, with the basal article short, plus 4 longer articles, of which the last 2 and the apex of the second are covered by long and dark hairs. Claws of the for anterior feet unequal,the largest one with a basal tooth, the last ones equal and small.

In the wings, the modification of the scales is more apparent, beginning farther away from the apex.

This species lings the genus Culex to the genus Melanoconion, being very close to the latter genus. It has been reared from larvae found in a swampy terrains,together with those of Melanoconion theobaldi, at Estação Lagoa, State of São Paulo.

 

III – 1 Culex fluviatilis(Male)

Total length 6mm, without the proboscis, which has almost 2mm.

Proboscis – Black, narrow, of equal thickness, with slightly swollen apex, covered with little-prominent, dark scales, but with a bronze shine, and very fine, short and sparse hairs, a little more developed on the labella, having a bronze or silvery shine; a little shorter than the abdomen.

Palpi – Larger than antennae, but a little shorter than proboscis, dark-colored,more bronze-colored at tip; last 3 articles with yellowish-white base on dorsal side,and, in the antepenultimate, also in the ventral side; second article larger, with many white scales, as well above as below; the last two and the apex of the antepenultimate furnished with long and dark hairs, and with a light bronze shine at tip.

Antennae – Torus ochre-colored, somewhat blackish; very plumose; the dark hairs with a silvery shine; the last articles without longer hairs, similar to the rest of the antennae; the last two articles, especially the penultimate, very long, with fine silvery hairs, almost as long as the rest of the antennae; inner face of the of the base of the torus and of the fagellum old-ivory colored; segments with articular rings lighter.

Clypeus – Black.

Occiput – Dark in groundcolor, on the midline with spindle-shaped, narrow and curved scales, which more towards the back become mingled with other more erect and spathulate scales with bifurcated apex; towards the periphery the scales become large and spathulate, with enlarged and rounded apex; the color of the scales is yellow, with either a whitish or light-golden shine, and sometimes with a more or less dark bronze shine.

Prothorax – With light hairs and oboval, cream-colored scales.

Mesonotum – Shining brown in groundcolor; there are three dark-brown lines,the median one more pronounced; macroscopically, the mesonotum is golden on the anterior half or 2/3, and darker posteriorad; the scales are placed close together,spindle-shaped, narrow, long and curved; on the anterior 2/3 light-golden colored,on the posterior 1/3 less abundant and in part darker, with a bronzy shine. There are, however, among them, some tufts of almost white scales.

Scutellum – Scales almost white, there being on the median lobe at least eight thick and long hairs.

Metanotum – Smooth, dark-brown, but with a light glitter.

Pleura – With 5 to 6 small groups of wide, flat scales, oboval or spathulate in shape, of a mother-of-pearl white color; other similar scales exist on the fore part of the coxae.

Abdomen – With a median, interrupted, light stripe, formed by linear spots,sometimes enlarged at base and occupying 2/3 of the segments; there is an indication of narrow, basal, transversal bands, more apparent on the first segments.

Over the remainder, scales are dark, with a bluish shine, the terminal hairs of the segments light-yellow colored; below, flat, yellowish-white scales predominate,but there are terminal dark bands, thin in the middle, laterally enlarged as they approach the posterior end; the white part, wider on the base of the segments, is limited by an irregular zigzag line.

Wings – Scales of the Culex, type, placed very close together; the first forked cell longer and narrower than the second; the first stem almost half of, the second equal to, the length of the respective cells; transverse veins a and b at a very obtuse angle, open towards the base, c is near the origin of wing by a distance a little over its own length.

Halteres – Whitish; capitulum with white scales.

Legs – Dark, the femora yellowish-white at base and below, almost beyond the middle; all articles with a light band placed on the part situated in the distal articular part, with exception of the knees, where both extremities are yellowish-white; metatarsi somewhat lighter, principally on the lower side. Claws of the two fore pairs unequal, all of them with basal tooth; those of the last pair equal and small.

The second article of the copulatory apparatus of the male is formed by a very slender, long and curved pincer. The female shows the usual differences in the palpi, antennae, claws and sexual parts.

The larvae, living in ponds, are easily recognized by the structure of the breathing tube – short, wide and conical, shorter than the branchial appendices. Two series of 3 to 18 teeth begin at base, with a few points, according to the larva’s age; more towards the top of each of these series there is a tuft formed by 8 hairs, distinctly pinnate. The skin is smooth, the antennae very simple and short, being totally dark and their tip does not reach the base of the styli preorales.

 

IV – Melanoconion fasciolatum (Female)

Total length 4mm, without the proboscis, which measures 2mm.

Proboscis – Uniformly black colored, with swollen apex.

Antennae – As long as proboscis, dark colored, with light rings on articulations; verticils dark, the hairs shorter, with whitish shine. Clypeus – Dark, with whitish shine.

Palpi – Short. Covered with dark scales and whitish hairs.

Occiput – Covered with spindle-shaped, short, narrow, curved, cream colored scales, and other narrow, long and erect ones with bifurcated tip, mostly golden,some being dark.

Prothoracic lobes – Black in groundcolor, with white shine, very prominent and with many thick hairs, seeming either dark or golden.

Mesonotum – Brownish-black, with 7 lighter spots, 3 anteriorly and 2 on either side. Scales spindle-shaped, curved, golden-brown colored over black background;the spots are cream colored with a faint golden shine.

Pleura and coxae – Covered with oboval, spathulate, flat scales, of a motherof-pearl white color.

Scutellum – Scales spindle-shaped, long, narrow and curved, cream-colored;strong hairs on the middle and on either side, seeming either dark or golden.

Metanotum – Naked, brownish-black, with brownish reflexes.

Abdomen – Flattened in the dorsoventral diameter; first segment narrow and prominent, uniformly violet-black above; apical hairs of the segments with a golden shine. At the base of the 6th th and 7 segments there are lateral spots; 8 th th and 9 segments invaginated and hidden; below there are reasonably wide basal white bands; the remainder as in the dorsum.

Legs – The 4 anterior femora laterally compressed and twisted at an angle of about 90 degrees, in such a way that, according to the position, either the anterior half or the posterior half seem swollen. Femora of the third pair equally compressed,chain-shaped, and curved, but not twisted; ventral part of the femora, except for the tibial extremity, dull-golden colored; the anterior part of the legs, in the remainder, is black, with the last tarsi somewhat lighter and a white dot on the tibio-metatarsal articulation; middle pair black, with white dots on the knee and on the tibio-metatarsal articulation (the former only on the distal segment, the second encompassing the two segments); at the base of the first three tarsi there are white rings, the first tarsus on the middle and the entire fourth tarsus lighter colored. Claws as in the females of other species.

Wings – Lateral scales on the upper part of the longitudinal veins, especially on the margins of the forked cells, of typical oboval shape, as in Taeniorhynchusand with prominent longitudinal crests on apex, of uniform dark color; more towards the base of the wing there are also scales typical of Culex; first forked cell larger than second, with very short stem (1:6); transverse veins a and b forming a very obtuse angle, open towards base; c near wing base by a distance twice its own length.

Halteres – Entirely old-ivory colored, having only the central part dull.

This species appear to form a transition to the genus Taeniorhyachus [sic] and,from the description, T. arribalzagae must be very similar. My specimens, however,lack the slightest indication of a white band on the proboscis.

This description is based upon two specimens of the feminine sex, reared from larvae found in stagnant water in a wooded and mountainous region near São Paulo.

 

V – Melanoconion theobaldi (Male)

Total length 3.5mm, without the proboscis, which measures 1.5mm.

Proboscis – Black, swollen at apex, with fine hairs throughout its length.

Antennae – Shorter than proboscis, very plumose, the verticils and lesser hairs black with whitish shine.

Torus – Dark-brown, with plumbeous shine.

Palpi – st Elongate, covered with dark scales; 1 article short, the other four elongate; the 3rd reaching base of labella of proboscis, its apex and articles 4 and 5 covered with long dark hairs with silvery shine; articulations with lighter rings or spots, but less distinct.

Occiput – On the middle with prominent, spindle-shaped, curved, narrow and long scales, rose-colored; laterally, scales are shorter and wider and imbricate, of a mother-of-pearl white color; posteriorad, especially on the middle, there are other narrow, erect and spathulate scales, with bifurcated apex, either golden or black.

Prothoracic lobes – Dark, with whitish shine, covered with many golden hairs and some scales.

Mesonotum – With prominent, spindle-shaped scales, very narrow and curved; on the fore part, up to a little beyond the middle, they are golden; laterally and behind they are dark-brown, over a similarly colored background, and among them there are some golden ones placed into longitudinal rows.

Scutellum – Scales similar, golden; the median lobe with 8 strong, dark hairs, with golden reflexes.

Pleura and coxae – With oboval, spathulate, white scales, over a dark background.

Abdomen – First segment narrow and prominent, with a few dark cervine colored scales. There are above basal white bands, narrow in the middle and expanded into lateral triangles, more distinct on the last segment; there are below basal white bands on the apical part, almost entirely covering all the segment on their anterior part.

Legs – Femora of the first pair laterally compressed and thickened in the dorsoventral diameter, looking sometimes thick, other times very thin, and this not always in all their extension, for they are twisted in the middle; those of the second pair slightly twisted, still more flattened and thickened; those of the last pair very slender and curved. The ventral side of the femora and tibiae yellowish. Claws of the two fore pairs unequal, the larger ones with a tooth below; those of the last pair equal and very minute.

Wings – First forked anterior cell 4½ times length of its stem; second much shorter, its stem over half length of cell; of the three transverse veins, the first two form an obtuse angle, open towards the base; c approaches them by a distance over twice its own length; on the wing apex, especially on the end of the first longitudinal veins, the scales become enlarged, as in the typical species of the genus; they are well-marked in males; in the females, this transformation is less marked, thus establishing a transition to certain small species of the genus Culex.

In the remainder, the female is distinguished by its sexual characters, the less plumose antennae, the short palpi and the simple claws.

This species is very close, by its characters, to Theobald’s Meloconion spissipes,but this author, after examining our specimens, has declared them different, for being much smaller and with the wing scales less modified and the femora less swollen. There are also some divergences in the descriptions; therefore, as it is necessary to name the new species, we dedicate it to the author of the greatest monograph on Culicidae.

This species occurs in the state of Bahia, as well as that of São Paulo, having been reared from pond-inhabiting larvae.

 

VI – 2 Gualteria oswaldi n. gen. n. spec. (Female)

Total length 5 to 6mm, without the proboscis, which measures 3mm.

Proboscis – Dark, with blue shine; very elongate, as long as abdomen, linear, swollen at apex, with many short hairs.

Clypeus – Dark-brown, with whitish shine.

Antennae – Torus light-brown, blackish on the inner side, where there are small and short hairs; flagellum elongate, almost as long as proboscis, with dark verticils,lesser hairs whitish and articular rings white.

Palpi – With five articles (the last very small), covered with dark scales with blue shine.

Occiput – Scales spindle-shaped, curved, narrow, cream-colored at eye-margin and on midline; besides the latter they are wider, dark-bronze colored; on the lateral and mentum region there are flat scales, of a mother-of-pearl white color;on the occiput’s middle and cervix there are also many erect, long and narrow scales, with bifurcated apex, golden colored.

Prothoracic lobes – With yellow hairs over a dark-brown background; laterally there are flat, oboval scales, of a mother-of-pearl white color.

Mesonotum – Brownish-black in groundcolor, on the middle with spindle-shaped, narrow, long and curved scales, golden or brown in color, which posteriorad become cream-colored; laterally they are substituted by wider scales, of a mother-of-pearl white color.

Pleura – With spathulate scales of a mother-of-pearl white color over darkbrown background, forming on the pleura and coxae about 9 groups, as it were small silvery spots of variable shape.

Scutellum – The scales fall down very easily, and are similar to those on thethorax; there are other scales, dark and spathulate; the median lobe has 5 subterminal long hairs.

Metanotum – Dark, shining, almost black on middle.

Abdome – Flattened above and laterally compressed at the apical portion, with three projections below, formed by the dilated apical margins of segments 5, 6 and 7;

covered with longer scales and numerous yellow hairs. The dorsal region is black in groundcolor and densely covered with dark, flat and overlapping scales with blue and greenish reflexes; below there are similar scales, but the first two segments are white, and the others marked with white basal bands, which, on segments 6, 7 and 8 continue as lateral white spots; segment 8 is much narrower, devoid of scales on the apical and ventral parts, where the yellowish background appears; the last segment is minute, almost hidden in general.

Legs – Dark-colored, with bluish and brownish shine and with some whitish bands situated in the following way: on the first pair there are rings on the base of the metatarsus and of the first tarsus; this long band is interrupted by black spines and some dark scales on the apex of the metatarsus, macroscopically forming a black spot; on the third pair there are white scales on the metatarsus’ base and white bands on its apex and on the base of the first tarsus, separated by dark spines and scales; all the knees are marked with white, but this is hardly perceived on the first pair; on the second and third pairs the femur has an apical white band; in the fore pairs the femur is laterally flattened and curved, the basal part being white below; on the third pair the basal half is white both above and below. The claws are slender and very long, especially in the first two pairs.

Wings – Very dark, with grayish lateral scales similar to those of Culex ; on the costal basis there are some wider scales, white-colored; first forked cell twice as long as its stem, much longer than second cell; the latter about as long as its stem; transverse veins a and b forming a very obtuse angle, open towards wing base, from which c is approximated by a distance almost twice its own length.

Halteres – Yellow, with white scales, these darker on the terminal

surface of the capitulum. 3

 

VII – Gualteria pulvithorax (Female)

Total length 5mm, without the proboscis, which measures 3mm.

Proboscis – Slender, as long as abdomen, furnished with fine hairs on itsapical portion, of a blackish-brown color.

Palpi – Yellow, with black scales and hairs.

Clypeus – Prominent and rounded, of a brown color.

Antennae – Larger hairs black; the other hairs shorter, whitish; the torus of a blackish-golden color on the inner side. Frontal region prominent, golden colored.

Occiput – Black, furnished on the middle with spindle-shaped, narrow and curved scales of a pale-gold color; laterally with other flat and imbricate scales, and behind with a collar of erect and bifurcated scales. There are also very large and proclinate golden hairs.

Prothoracic lobes – Scales and hairs similar to those of occiput.

Mesonotum – Scales similar to those on middle part of occiput.

Pleura – With small, flat, lanceolate scales of a yellowish-white color, forming 8 groups of 10 to 20 scales each.

Scutellum – With flat black scales and long hairs, there being at least 6 on either side and 4 in the middle.

Metanotum – Naked, of a brownish-cervine color.

Abdome – Black above, with basal, semilunar clear spots, occupying segments 2, 3, 4 and 5, a little larger on segment 6; with large white spots laterally, occupying the basal half and extending over the ventral surface; on the ventral midline a golden-yellow color predominates; the last segments are laterally compressed, narrow at base, enlarged and prominent in the ventral side at their apex and ending obliquely, having their tip furnished with black scales and yellow hairs.

Legs – Coxa and basal inferior part of the femur of the anterior pair light-brown in color; the tibia and the foot more blackish, with some lighter scales on the tibiometatarsal articulation; in the second pair the femur is yellow on the base and the ventral side, covered above with black scales, and marked on the apex by a white dot; the tibia and the foot are black, with lighter reflexes, the last tarsus being bronze-colored; in the posterior pair the femur has its anterior 2/3 yellowish-brown colored, the last 1/3 black, with a white apical dot; the tibia is black and somewhat white on apex, the metatarsus with a narrow basal stripe of white color, and black on the remainder, just like the other tarsi, which are only a little lighter on the base. Claws unarmed and equal, those of the 4 fore feet a little larger.

Wings – Scales of the Culex-type; first forked cell long and narrow; second smaller and somewhat wider; transverse veins a and b forming a very obtuse angle, open towards the wing basis, from which c is approximated by a distance almost twice its own length.

Halteres – 4 White, with black capitulum.

 

VIII – Bancroftia albicosta (Male)

Total length 4mm, without the proboscis, which measures 2mm.

Proboscis – As long as abdomen, well-swollen on its apical portion, with black scales and some white ones interspersed, and fine hairs, especially on the labella.

Palpi – Narrow, covered with black scales, among which there are some white ones, and about 6 apical hairs, very short and thick; with three elongate articles, proportion 3: 3: 1 and a basal one, short and little distinct.

Clypeus – Ochre-colored.

Antennae – Torus brownish-black, on its inner side with small, mother-of-pearl white colored scales, which fall down more or less easily, also extending over the frontal region; on the remainder they are plumose and the flagellum with a wellevident white shine; the last two segments longer than the remainder.

Occiput – With black hairs and a great number of spathulate, erect and bifurcated scales, most of them black; among these there are spindle-shaped, narrow, long and curved scales, pure-white colored; these form around eye-margin, from vertex to mentum, a narrow margin, which also extends over the prothorax.

Prothoracic lobes – Little-developed and partly naked, but also carrying dark hairs.

Mesonotum – The groundcolor is a beautiful, velvety, brown color; mesonotum partly glabrous, but with lines of hairs and narrow stripes of niveous scales; on the middle, two parallel longitudinal rows formed by long, thick and black hairs; between these and the margin there is a longitudinal line of white scales, curving outwards in the middle and continuing up to the posterior margin of scutellum, where the scales are very long and prominent, looking almost like hairs; another similar line, more convex outwards, accompanies the mesonotal margin and merges into the first at the anterior end and finishes behind on the scutellum; parallel to this, in continuation to the ocular margin, there is a third line on the pleura, and, still lower, two parallel lines more, interrupted in some points; a sixth curved line descends before the middle coxae; all these lines formed by few scales, obliquely placed, in such a way that the insertion points are not all at the same height, and accompanied by long, curved, black hairs.

Scutellum – With partly white and partly dark hairs.

Metanotum – Naked, ochre-colored, with blackish spots and white shine.

Pleura – Dark-brown in groundcolor, with the already-mentioned white lines and some golden hairs.

Abdomen – With flat, black scales above with blue reflexes and yellow apical hairs; first segment very narrow and a little prominent, with many golden hairs; below there are white basal bands, interrupted in the middle, above a dark background.

Legs – Generally dark, with metallic reflexes and the following markings: on the fore pair apices of femur and tibia white and the tarsi, on their lower side, of a light bronze color; on the second pair, knees white, as well as the tibio-metatarsal articulations; over the first intertarsal articulation there is a white stripe, very large above, but little visible below; on the second there are also some white scales, and the remainder of the tarsus is of a very light color with a silvery shine above; on the last pair the knee and the tibio-metatarsal articulation form the center of a very large white band, from which some black spines emerge; the remaining articulations are also marked with white, but only above. Claws of the two fore pairs unequal, with a basal tooth; those of the posterior pair similar and minute.

Wings – Very elongate and very slender; first longitudinal vein covered with white scales, which form a basal line, a little less than half wing’s length; the Costa with dark scales with metallic violet-bronze shine, presenting, on the apical half, the appearance of spines; on the remainder, the scales are grayish, with the form of those of Culex; forked cells around 3, and much less than 2 times as long as their respective stems; veins a and b forming a weakly obtuse angle open towards the base, of which c is approximated by a distance equal to 2 to 3 times its own length.

 

(Female)

May be distinguished by the less plumose antennae and shorter palpi, which reach, however, half the length of the proboscis, black-colored, with apical white dot; by the simple and equal claws, larger

in the 4 fore feet, and sexual differences of the last segment. 5

IX – 6 Carrolia iridescens nov. gen. nov. spec .

(Male)

Total length about 5mm, without the proboscis, which measures almost 3mm.

Proboscis – As long as the abdomen, thin, with very thickened apex, covered by black scales and fine, longer and shorter, scattered hairs, more abundant in the labella, which has a yellowish apex; on the ventral side, especially at the base, the scales are a little lighter, with bronzy and metallic-blue reflexes; at the root of the proboscis, on the ventral side, there are some longer hairs.

Palpi – A little shorter than the proboscis, covered by dark scales and fine hairs, with four long articles, of which the second is a little longer than the first, and the latter almost equal to the third and fourth; in addition to these, there seems to be a small basal article; there are no longer hairs on the first three segments, and in the last ones there are many sparse hairs, somewhat longer on the apex of the fifth; they do not form a distinct and long tuft such as that observed in Culex.

Antennae – A little shorter than the palpi, very plumose, the verticills dark, the hairs fine, the last two articles whitish, flagellum with white shine, the last two articles reach more than two-thirds of the length. Torus partly ochraceous, partly with the color of old plumb.

Clypeus – Of a dark plumbeous color.

Occiput – Black in groundcolor, covered with oboval and spathulate, imbricated scales, directed upwards and forwards; those scales have rose, liliaceous, bronzy, and pearly-white, iridescent reflexes; on the middle and backwards there are golden, erect, long and bifurcated scales; laterally all the scales are flat, of the same color as those on the center.

Prothoracic lobes – Dark, with a silvery shine and brown hairs with a golden shine.

Mesonotum – Black in groundcolor, with silvery shine, scales spindle-shaped, narrow, long and curved, very dark, but with a fuscous golden shine.

Scutellum – Covered with similar scales over lighter, ochre-green background, having on each side and on the middle four long and thick hairs with golden shine.

Pleura – Black in groundcolor, with some spots of a silvery shine, in which may be seen a small number of whitish, oboval scales.

Metanotum – Black, with silvery shine, devoid of hairs and scales.

Abdomen – Laterally compressed, the first segment very narrow and produced; the last segments, starting with the fifth, with apical margin produced below, so as to form a kind of ladder; this is more marked on the seventh segment, whose base, on the dorsoventral aspect, measures only about half of the a apex of the sixth; the abdomen is covered above with dark scales with rose and dark-blue metallic reflexes; there are lighter, basal stripes from the second to the seventh segments, narrower in the middle and laterally dilated, forming spots of a little regular shape; ventrally there are on the middle basal, lighter stripes, laterally continued by triangles, whose apical base, lying between the latter and the spots of the dorsal surface, a black stripe, diagonally running from the ventral base to

the apex, and from the venter to the dorsum; [—] 7; the apical part of the segments is entirely black; the scales are light colored, changing color according to the incidence of light, showing brilliant, golden, reddish, blue, violet and liliaceous reflexes; the apical hairs of the segments are golden; the eighth segment is a little dilated and only has very long, black scales; the last segment, black colored, is almost hidden by golden hairs and has a pincer of a very darkened yellow color.

Legs – The coxae and the trochanters are light ochre-colored, somewhat greenish, with a white shine, contrasting with thedark color of the dorsal color of the pleura and metanotum; the femora have the base, and almost all the ventral surface, of a light ochre color; in the remainder thay are dark, exception made to some light spots with an iridescence similar to that of the abdomen; of these, there are two on the anterior surface of the middle femur and another, subapical, on the anterior surface of the hind femur; all the knees are marked above with a white dot; the ultimate apex of the tibiae and, in general, the inferior surface of the legs, are lighter colored, with pallid golden and bronzy reflexes; the four fore feet have unequal claws toothed at the base; the hind ones had equal, small and toothless claws; the femora, especially those of the fore pairs, are laterally compressed and twisted in the middle; on the femora and tibiae there are many long, golden hairs, resembling spines.

Wings – With some narrow, lateral scales shaped like those of Culex, although being in greater part oboval like those of Taeniorhynchus; the apical scales are closely set, reminding one of the wings of Melanoconion; first cell forked, four times as long as its corresponding stem; the second almost equals its stem; vein a and b forming an obtuse angle, open towards the base, of which c is approximated by more than twice its length; the scales on the Costa and on the first longitudinal vein, as well as on the greatest part of the fifth vein, darker and with a bronzy reflex; the others are brown; the long scales on the wing margin are darker on the apex, becoming gradually lighter towards the wing base.

The female is distinguished by the less plumose antennae, the

shorter palpi, the equal claws and by the sexual characters.8

 

X – Stegoconops capricorni n. gen. nov. spec.

(Female)

Body length 5mm, without the proboscis, which measures 2.5mm. General colordark metallic blue, the denuded groundcolor black.

Proboscis – Long, black with a dark-blue shine, almost as long as abdomen;labella yellow on the tip, where there are fine hairs, and a few, longer ones, on thelower side of the base.

Antennae – Almost as long as the proboscis. Torus very dark, almost black, butwith a whitish shine and with short and dark hairs on the internal side; in theflagellum both the longer and the shorter hairs are black colored, but the latterwith a silvery shine.

Palpi – Black, with blue shine and many dark hairs.

Clypeus – As the antennal torus.

Occiput – Black in groundcolor; at the posterior margin of the eyes a row of small, white, spathulate scales; the remainder covered by larger, flat and imbricatescales, of a metallic blue color; these, as also those on the prothorax, plaura,mesonotum, abdomen and legs, are spathulate, with a more or less rounded apex;on the periphery and mentum region they are substituted by pearly-white scales.

Prothoracic lobes – Very bulging, with dark hairs and scales equal in shape,color and grouping to those of the occiput.

Mesonotum – Of a black color, with oboval, green-bluish, bronzy and coppery iridescent scales, such as the feathers of a hummingbird. A little longer on the scutellum

Pleura – With pearly-white scales forming a continuous spot with a somewhatsilvery- white shine.

Scutellum – Lateral lobes with three or four longer hairs; in the middle two to four. Above the wing base there are thick, dark hairs, in greater numbers, whichcontinue towards the scutellar margin, where, on the lateral and median lobes,they exist in variable numbers, as we have seen, for being in part substituted byother shorter hairs.

Abdomen – Uniformly dark metallic blue colored above, there existing only at the base of the last segments some white scales; the latter are also found on the ventral surface, where they uniformly cover the first segments and form obliquespots at the sides of the last segments; the aspect of the last three segments followsthe type of the genera Carrollia and Gualteria.

Wings – With middle-sized, spathulate, short and wide scales with a metallicshine, and others of a grayish color, long and slender, of the genus Culex type;forked cells small, shorter than their stems; the first narrower than the second; thefirst two transverse veins forming an obtuse angle, open towards the base, of whichthe third is approximated by a distance greater than its length.

Legs – Of a uniform, dark blue, except on the lower side of the hind femur,which is covered by pearly scales; there are many spines, especially on the lowerside of the hind tibiae, where they are macrocopically visible.

Claws of the fore legs equal, longer, and with a tooth at base; those

of the hindlegs minute, equal and toothless. 9

 

XI – 10 Stecogonops leucolemas(Female)

Total length 4.5mm, except the proboscis, which measures 2mm.

Proboscis – Very slender and of equal thickness in all its length, black, with thelabellar apex somewhat yellowish, covered with very imbricate black scales witha dark-blue shine; on the stem and labella there are only very short and fine hairs;only on the underside there are some larger hairs.

Palpi – Somewhat porrect, in a general way, with a very dark metallic bluecolor and black hairs.

Clypeus – Black, with white shine.

Frons and anterior vertex with some narrow, long and curved scales and someproclinate hairs, both golden.

Antennae – Torus black with white shine, showing on inner side small scalesand fine and short hairs; flagellum black, with white rings on articulations; somedark, spathulate scales on the base, especially on the inner side; verticils littlevisible, formed by fine and dark hairs.

Occiput – Covered with flat, oboval or spathulate scales, which are imbricateand proclinate, forming on the middle a large stripe of a mother-of-pearl whitecolor, beginning at the vertex, at the height of the posterior margin of the torus andending at the cervix, so as to give place to a generally little visible collar formedby erect and bifurcated scales of a dark color; besides the white stripe there are darkmetallic-blue scales, which, on the lateral and the mentum regions, are substitutedby other scales of a mother-of-pearl white color, the separating line being oblique.

Prothoracic lobes – Black in groundcolor, with black hairs, covered with scalesof a mother-of-pearl white color, equal to those of the occiput, which extend overthe coxae of the 1 st pair, forming a white stripe; parallel to this there are, over thepleura and the coxae of the posterior pairs, other two white stripes, vertical inrelation to the thoracic axis, and separated by black stripes; those three stripes arevery characteristic and differentiate the species from all the other known speciesfound among us.

Mesonotum – Midline with a few white scales on the apex of the thorax and onthe scutellum; on the remainder, groundcolor black, covered with very dark, spindleshapedor oboval, elongated scales; they are also found on the scutellum, whichhas on its median lobe 4 long hairs and a few other on the lateral lobes; it iscovered with oboval scales.

Metanotum – Black, with whitish shine.

Abdome – Ochre in groundcolor above, covered with scales with a blue shine,which are separated below and at the sides by basal bands of a mother-of-pearlwhite color; these, in turn, are interrupted in the middle and in the lateralmembranes; in the last segments they may extend up to the dorsal surface; theabdomen is laterally compressed, assuming a prismatic form, one face being formedby the dorsal plane; the apices of segments 7, 8 and 9 are prominent below, in themedian line, such as to form a stair-like structure; there are many pale-golden hairsirregularly distributed over all the segments, but more abundant on the 1st and onthe apical margins of the others.

Legs – Dark, covered with scales with blue or dark-violet metallic shine andsparse spines, which are also dark; in the last pair there are many elongate andsomewhat prominent scales, especially on the inner side of the apex of the tibiaand the base of the metatarsus; the four fore femora laterally compressed, withsome pale scales, slightly golden on the basal and inferior half; in the last pair thebase and the largest part of the inferior side ochre-colored, with white scales. Inthe middle pair there is a white spot on the base of the femur and in the limit of thesecond and last thirds, both situated on the anterior face and one more, identical,on the fore side of the apex of the posterior femur.

Claws of the four fore feet largest and with a tooth at the base; the last onesshorter and unarmed.

Wings – Short, wide and spathulate scales of a darker color, with blue andviolet reflexes, predominate on the base of the Costa and on the first longitudinalveins; on the remainder of the wings predominate grayish scales, similar tothose observed in the genus Culex; first forked cell much larger; second almostas long as, their corresponding stem; veins a and b meet at an obtuse angle,open towards base, from which c is approximated by a distance of about twiceits own length.

Halteres – Ochre-colored; the capitulum with generally dark scales, replacedby scales of a mother-of-pearl white color on the terminal surface.

The male is distinct by its very plumose antennae, having the last two articleslong and the larger hairs with a whitish shine.

Palpi st long and slender, a little shorter than proboscis, having the 1

article veryshort and the remainder of variable lengths, increasing in size according to theorder – 5th-4th-3rd; the color is dark with a somewhat blue shine; there are no tufts,but only sparse fine hairs, a little longer on the 3 rd th and 4 articles.

Fore claws unequal and very large, with teeth at their base. 11

 

XII – Aedinus amazonensis (Male)

Total length 3.5mm, except the proboscis, which measures almost 2mm.

Proboscis – Of equal thickness, only the apex swollen; shorter than abdomen,with little prominent, dark scales and fine hairs. the labial palpi yellowish, withfine hairs.

Maxillary palpi – Short, less than 1/4 length of proboscis, covered with darkbrownscales.

Clypeus – Ochre-colored, somewhat blackish, with whitish shine.

Antennae – Very plumose, shorter than proboscis; flagellum yellowish and torusplumbeous; hairs are dark, with a slight whitish shine. The last two articles notvery long and with silvery hairs.

Occiput – Vertex and posterior margin of eyes with small, spindle-shaped,curved, white scales, mixed up with bronzy hairs, forming a narrow belt; towardsthe back the scales are dark, pf a brownish-bronze color; some are narrow, spindleshapedand curved, other erect, spathulate and bifurcated; among those a smallnumber is white-colored.

Prothoracic lobes – Dark ochre, but with a silvery shine, covered with darkhairs with a bronze shine.

Mesonotum – Ochre-colored, with a distinct median line and two lateral dimmerones, of dark color; the scales are not numerous, long and very narrow and curved,looking like hairs.

Scutellum – Somewhat darker, with similar scales and long hairs – three ineach lateral lobe and in the halves of the median lobe.

Metanotum – Very dark, naked and with a silvery shine.

Pleura – Ochre-colored, with oboval, flat, white scales, which extend to thecoxae and trochanters.

Abdomen – Ochre-colored, on the dorsal side with flat scales, almost black incolor, but with a blue-green shine; the first segment is narrow, a little prominent,with many whitish hairs; other similar hairs are found, especially on the sides andthe ventral part of the segments, forming a terminal tuft on the last two; the ventralside is covered with flat, spathulate, whitish scales with rounded apex.

Legs – Color almost uniformly dark, with bronze and silvery reflexes; the femoralighter on the base and on the ventral side; metatarsus of the last pair much largerthan the tibia; in all legs there are many sparse spines, very long, especially on theventral part of the femora and tibia of the last pair, where the tibio-metatarsalarticulation also presents long and prominent scales, which extend upwards anddownwards. Claws of the anterior feet unequal, the largest with a tooth; those ofthe last pair equal and small.

Wings – With long and oboval scales, such as those of Taeniorhynchus ; spinelikeon the Costa; first forked cell narrow and elongate, with a very short stem, notreaching the fourth part of the former’s length; second forked cell wider and short,its stem of variable length, sometimes reaching more than half length of cell;transverse veins a and b forming an obtuse angle open towards the base of thewing, from which c is approximated by a distance over twice its own length.

 

(Female)

Distinguished by the antennae, only pilose; palpi shorter, only the fourth part ofthe length of proboscis; claws equal; and by the sexual

characters of the last segment.12

 

XIII – 13 Hyloconops palidiventer n. gen. n. spec.

(Male)

Total length 7mm, except the proboscis, which measures from 3 to 3.5mm.

Proboscis - Linear, somewhat swollen at apex, where scales are a little prominent;without larger hairs, with the exception of the inferior part of the base; length ofproboscis equal to 2/3 that of abdomen.

Palpi – Slender, such as in Trichoprosopon, with a few long hairs; length equalto that of proboscis; 5 articles present: the 1 st short; as to the remainder articles, the 5th is the shortest, the 3° the longest, the 2 nd th and the 4 almost identical.

Eyes, in life, of a bright green color with a red shine; between them there is anarrow, yellow stripe and around the torus of the antennae a clear zone.

Clypeus – Yellowish-brown, without long hairs, with a short, but abundant down.

Antennae – Plumose; the flagellum with a whitish shine, darker on the apicalpart, almost as long as proboscis; torus, on the inner side, with filiform scales of anintense ochre color and a little golden shine; larger hairs blackish-grey, the lesserones with silvery shine.

Occiput – Furnished with flat scales, with at times white, at times golden, rose,green or golden-blue, varying from sky-blue to golden-blue, and below to a dullgoldencolor; in the region of the mentum are also found golden hairs, very long,and similar ones on the vertex; in the occipital region there is a collar of straight,long and narrow scales, partly spindle-shaped, partly bifurcated.

Prothorax – White to the naked eye, with flat, iridescent scales in white, golden,red and lilac, and many thick, black hairs.

Mesonotum – With long, filiform scales, whose total color seems to be brownishblack,except near the wing root, where they are cream-colored; on the anteriorand lateral regions of the thorax, extending to the middle of the exterior margin,there is a zone of flat, golden-red iridescent scales, to which the scales of thepleura give continuation.

Pleura, coxae and trochanters – Groundcolour partly black, partly yellow. Withsmall, flat scales of a mother-of-pearl white color. Root of wings with lighter hairs.

Scutellum – Scales flat, with blue shine; median lobe with 8 to 10 hairs; otherflat scales with a metallic-blue shine exist on the mesonotum just before the scutellum.

Metanotum – With (at least 10) hairs and flat, minute, iridescent scales.

Abdomen – Brownish-black above, but with a metallic shine, where the violetprevails; below dull-golden colored, passing to a mother-of-pearl white; the laterallimit between the dosal and ventral parts is formed by a line of obtuse teeth, insuch a way that the dorsal scales extend to the basal side and the ventral ones tothe apical end of the segments; abdomen narrow, covered with scales and manylong, golden hairs, almost of the same width in all its extension, with flatteneddorsal part and the sides converging ventrad, thus assuming the form of a prismwith 3 edges; it has on the posterior end short hairs; on the median zone of theventer, especially on the posterior part, there is a violet line; the scales are similarto those of the dorsal part and in the last segments they occupy all the ventral part,where there are no prominent scales.

Wings – Elongate, narrow and very dark because of the large, spathulate, slightlyasymmetric scales, which seem to be grayish with filtered light, and with a lightcopper shine at reflected light; the three transverse veins form a straight, or slightlybroken, line; 1st forked cell longer than the 2nd, the stem of the former only 1/3 length of cell; the stem of the latter does not reach half the length of its correspondingcell; anal cell very large; scales on Costa and on 1st longitudinal vein mostlydarker and with a metallic shine varying from steel-blue to coppery-violet, moreperceptible in fresh specimens; above the root of the wings some golden hairs andmany other dark ones.

Legs – Totally fuscous, but with a shine varying from light-bronze to violet;femora of the 2 anterior pairs laterally compressed, thickened in the dorsoventraldiameter, tapering towards base, especially those of the fore pair; tibiae very spinousand with swollen apex and furnished with some long scales, partly filiform; on thelast pair, the metatarsi are longer than the tibiae. Claws of the two fore pairsunequal, very large, but unarmed, the posterior ones equal and small.

 

(Female)

Distinguished by the antennae, only pilose; palpi shorter, only the fourth part ofthe length of proboscis; claws equal; and by the sexual characters of the last segment.

 

XIV – Hyloconops longipalpis (Female) Total length about 5½mm, without the proboscis, which measures 2½mm (alittle smaller, therefore, than palidiventer ). This species may be distinguished bythe less violet general coloration and by the lack of blue shine on the occiput andthe scutellum, by the comparatively long palpi, which have more than 1/3 thelength of the proboscis; antennal torus darker, with pale, slightly golden scales;white scales well visible on the base and on the inner side of the antennae; occipitalscales predominantly with bronze reflexes; mesonotum more brownish and lessblackish in groundcolor. Legs, on their upper side, more blackish, with less intenseand more greenish reflexes; below, their color is lighter, with bronze shine; in thelast pair the tibia has a ring of light scales over an ochre background, a little morecloser to the apex than to the base; moreover, the anterior and the posterior kneesare marked with somewhat prominent, white or pale-yellow scales.

 

(Male)

Palpi – Slender, long, almost as long as proboscis, with a small basal article and four longer ones, the 1st being smaller than the 2 nd, but a little longer than the 3 rd th and the 4, which are almost equal in size; on the apex of the 4th there are some short and thick hairs; in the remainder there are no hairs and the scales are little prominent; antennae very plumose, the last two articles with a white shine, much shorter than the rest of the flagellum; claws of the fore pair unequal – the largest with a tooth at base; those of the median pair equal and unarmed; those of the last pair equal and very short; the last [abdominal] segment with long basal lobes, covered with scales similar to those of others and hairs very numerous; pincers pale-golden colored, with dark, acute apex.

 

XV – 14 Trichoproson splendens (Male)

Total length 9mm, without the proboscis, which measures 4mm. The hind leg measures 16 and the wing 6mm.

Proboscis – Very long, of equal thickness, with oboval scales somewhat prominent; fine hairs on the labella.

Palpi – Slender and naked, the length of the first three articles equal to half length of proboscis.

Antennae – Shorter than proboscis, very plumose, dull-grayish in color.

Clypeus – With abundant long hairs.

Occiput – With mother-of-pearl white colored scales above, forming two semilunar spots which meet in the middle; backwards a collar of narrow, long, erect scales with bifurcated tip and of a black color; on the middle there are flat scales with greenish, bronzy and bluish reflexes.

Prothoracic lobes – Covered with white scales with a bluish hue.

Mesonotum – Groundcolour black, with curved, very narrow and long scales, appearing either dark or with a faint greenish and bronzy shine.