Aedes (Howardina) guatemala Berlin 1969
Creators: name: Viveros-Santos, Vicente
name: Rivera-García, Karina D.
name: Ibáñez-Bernal, Sergio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Culicidae
Aedes
Aedes guatemala

description: Aedes (Howardina) guatemala Berlin, 1969
Type locality: Guatemala, Chimaltenango, Yepocapa.
Fourth-instar larva (Fig. 2). Chaetotaxy in Table 2. Head: Dorsomentum with a strong median tooth and 11–13 teeth on each side (Fig. 2b). Antenna: With a few scattered spicules; all setae except 1-A single (Fig. 2a). Thorax: Aciculae (not shown in figure) present on long and stellate setae. Abdomen: Segment I glabrous; segments II–VIII with spine-like spicules; stellate setae with branches of unequal length (Fig. 2c, d). Abdominal segment VIII: Comb with 14 or 15 scales in a single row, individual scales long, pointed and finely fringed nearly to apex (Fig. 2b, d). Abdominal segment X: Saddle with distinct large caudal marginal spine-like spicules that extend ventrad of the insertion of seta 1-X; saddle index 1.0–1.5 (n = 9). Anal papillae: About 2 times length of saddle (Fig. 2d). Siphon: Pecten with 23–25 spines that extend to mid-length of siphon, ending just before insertion of seta 1-S, spines pointed with a conspicuous basal tooth and finely denticulate margin (Fig. 2b, d); seta 1-S usually with 3 branches; siphon index 3.0–3.5 (n = 9) (Fig. 2d).
Pupa (Fig. 3). Chaetotaxy in Table 3. Cephalothorax: Slightly tanned. Trumpet: Slightly darker than cephalothorax; length 0.38–0.44 mm (m = 0.4; sd = 0.023; n = 5), width 0.07–0.09 mm (m = 0.08; sd = 0.01; n = 5), trumpet index 4.54–5.57 (m = 5.08; sd = 0.41; n = 5), pinna 0.03–0.05 mm (m = 0.04; sd = 0.0083; n = 5), meatus 0.35–0.40 mm (m = 0.36; sd = 0.019; n = 5) (Fig. 3a). Abdomen: Slightly tanned, with central areas of segments darker, length 2.7–3.1 mm (m = 2.92; sd = 0.16; n = 5); all setae single, seta 1-I fanlike with aciculate dendritic branches, seta 9-VIII fanlike with aciculate branches. Paddle: Slightly yellow, lighter than rest of body, midrib conspicuous and distinct except at apex, with paddle marginal serration more conspicuous from mid-length to apex; length 0.63–0.65 mm (m = 0.64; sd = 0.0083; n = 5), width 0.41–0.49 mm (m = 0.43; sd = 0.031; n = 5), paddle index 1.30–1.54 (m = 1.47; sd = 0.09; n = 5). Genital lobe: Darker than rest of body; length ♁ 0.33–0.35 mm (m = 0.34; sd = 0.014; n = 2) (Fig. 3b), ♀ 0.22–0.23 mm (m = 0.22; sd = 0.0057; n = 3).
Female (Figs 4–6). Head: Vertex covered with decumbent scales; with a central stripe of pale yellow scales and 2 lateral stripes of broad dark scales (with slight green reflections anteriorly and violet posteriorly), all 3 stripes begin at ocular line and end at occiput; lateral areas of vertex with broad yellowish scales and a spot of dark scales at level of antepronotal lobe; interocular space with narrow yellow scales; ocular line with slightly pearly white scales; posterior area of occiput with narrow dark or golden erect scales (Fig. 5a); antenna about 0.8–0.9 length of forefemur; pedicel with a spot of iridescent white scales on inner side; maxillary palpus covered with dark scales, apex with white scales; palpus about 0.16 length of proboscis; proboscis dark-scaled; clypeus without scales and setae. Thorax: Integument of antepronotum brown, covered with broad white scales, and with 7 or 8 setae; integument of postpronotum brown with broad golden-brown scales (Fig. 5b); integument of scutum dark brown with a conspicuous pattern of golden and dark scales; anterior area of scutum with golden-brown scales, followed by 4 stripes of golden-yellow, 2 central and 2 lateral stripes from the anterior margin to scutellum (prescutellar area without scales), and 2 stripes from antepronotal lobes (above mesothoracic spiracles) to supraalar areas (Fig. 5a); scutellum trilobed, covered centrally and on each lateral lobe with a group of scales continuing from scutellar stripes (rest of scutellum without scales); each lateral lobe with 2–4 strong setae distally; mesopostnotum with a group of setae and 1 or 2 scales, usually without scales; pleura dorsally with a stripe of white scales from antepronotum to top of mesanepimeron, as explained below; proepisternum, proepimeron and subspiracular area each with a spot of white scales; paratergite covered with white scales; posterior mesanepisternum covered with white scales; mesokatepisternum with a slight stripe of white scales below upper mesokatepisternal setae and another below lower mesokatepisternal setae, located next to and above midcoxa; mesanepimeron with a spot of white scales near upper mesepimeral setae and a stripe of white scales crossing mesanepimeron slightly transversely (Figs 4, 5b). Wing: Scales dark, narrow (Fig. 6a). Halter: With a few dark scales on scabellum and white on capitellum. Legs: Fore- and midcoxa with a group of scales on dorsal part, anterior 0.5 with white and posterior 0.5 with dark scales; hindcoxa with a few white scales on dorsal part; trochanters with a group of dark scales; foreleg covered with dark scales, except for a small spot of white scales on base of tarsomere Ta-I 1; midfemur with a spot of white scales beyond middle, apex with white scales, midtibia and midtarsus covered with dark scales, except for base of tarsomere Ta-II 1 with white scales (Fig. 6b); hindfemur with a spot of white scales beyond middle, apex with white scales, hindtibia and hindtarsus covered with dark scales, except bases of tarsomeres Ta-III 1,2 with white scales (Fig. 6c). Abdomen: Terga covered almost entirely with dark scales, terga III–VI usually with a basal stripe of white scales, lateral margins of terga I–V with white scales very inconspicuous in dorsal view; tergum VI with a basal spot of white scales in form of a small inverted triangle; tergum VII with lateral margins white-scaled more conspicuous than other terga. Sterna difficult to see due to the collapsed abdomen, anteriorly with white scales, distally with dark scales, sternum I with a conspicuous spot of white scales.
Female genitalia (Fig. 7). Tergum VIII: Proximal 0.36 retracted into segment VII; apex broad and convex, both dark and pale scales on distal 0.50, microsetae on distal 0.50, macrosetae at middle on distal 0.30, but a few marginal on distal 0.50; VIII-Te index 0.78–0.80; VIII-Te/IX-Te index 1.10–1.14; length 0.48–0.5 mm; width 0.37– 0.37 mm (Fig. 7a, e). Sternum VIII: Scales and setae on distal 0.70, setae in a triangular patch, seta 1-S far caudad, basolateral seta some distance caudally from basal margin; VIII-S index 0.84–0.87; length 0.27–0.30 mm; width 0.33–0.35 mm (Fig. 7c, f). Tergum IX: Apical lobes small, well separated, each with 2 setae distally; IX-Te index 0.63; length 0.08 mm; width 0.13 mm (Fig. 7d). Insula: With 6 total setae (Fig. 7d). Upper vaginal lip: Upper vaginal sclerite pigmented, moderately broad, with a proximal point at middle. Postgenital lobe: Apical portion moderately wide; apex nearly straight; 5 setae distally on each side of midline, 10 total setae; ventral PGL/Ce index 0.04; dorsal PGL index 0.80; ventral length 0.05 mm (Fig. 7d). Cercus: Apex bluntly rounded; dorsal surface without scales, with setae on distal 0.50; cercus index 1.8; length 0.12–0.15 mm; width 0.07–0.08 mm (Fig. 7 a-d).
Male. Similar to female, except for antennal and sexual characters.
Male genitalia (Figs 8, 9). Tergum IX moderately developed, with a straight and inconspicuous interlobar space, with a slight concavity, each lobe rather indistinct with 1–3 (mode 3) short setae (Figs 8a, 9a). Gonocoxite conical, less than 3.5 times its width at level of claspette (Fig. 8a). Claspette small but slightly long, slender and pointed, located near base of gonocoxite, with a long apical seta; basal portion about twice or less length of apical seta (Fig. 8). Gonostylus about twice as long as gonocoxite, with 1 distal seta; claw relatively short, about 4 or more times length of gonostylus (Fig. 8). Proctiger strongly developed (Fig. 9c). Paraproct simple, large, slender and heavily sclerotized, apically strongly curved with a highly curved apical tooth or beak, with 4 small cercal setae (Fig. 9b). Aedeagus slightly shorter than proctiger, lateral plates distinctly separated, appearing as a broad lobe on either side (Fig. 9c).
Bionomics. According to Berlin (1969) and Clark-Gil & Darsie (1983), the immature stages of this species develop in the axils of epiphytic bromeliads.Adult females have been collected biting or landing on humans (Berlin 1969), approaching humans in coffee plantations and in the area of a plantation during the day (Clark-Gil & Darsie 1983). Heinemann & Belkin (1977) found the immature stages in “tree holes” (probably “in avocado, Persea ”), but they also mentioned the possibility of development in bromeliads.
During the study on the border of Chiapas-Guatemala (Viveros-Santos et al. 2022), the immature stages of this species were found only in the axils of epiphytic bromeliads. The bromeliads were located in shaded sites and under sunlight. The water in these plants was clean, colored or turbid, with a high amount of organic material and sediment, but leaf litter was absent or scarce. Within the montane cloud forest, Ae. guatemala shared larval habitats with Ae. aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762), Ae. albopictus (Skuse, 1895), Ae. podographicus Dyar & Knab, 1906b, Culex bihaicolus Dyar & Núñez Tovar, 1928, Cx. erethyzonfer Galindo & Blanton, 1954, Cx. rejector Dyar & Knab, 1906c, Limatus durhamii Theobald, 1901, Shannoniana moralesi (Dyar & Knab, 1919), Toxorhynchites moctezuma (Dyar & Knab, 1906d), Wyeomyia guatemala Dyar & Knab, 1906a and Wy. melanopus Dyar, 1919. Within coffee plantations, immatures shared habitats with Ae. allotecnon, Cx. bihaicolus, Wy. guatemala and Wy. mitchellii (Theobald, 1905). Finally, in pine forest they were found in habitats with Ae. albopictus, Ae. allotecnon, Ae. lorraineae (Berlin, 1969), Ae. quadrivittatus and Cx. erethyzonfer. Finally, adult females of this species seek to feed on humans throughout the day, in complete or partial shade, and with light to moderate wind. In addition, blood-fed females were collected while resting in a sheep pen during the night, indicating that Ae. guatemala could be a generalist species.
Distribution. Aedes guatemala has been recorded only from Guatemala (Berlin 1969; Heinemann & Belkin 1977; Clark-Gil & Darsie 1983) and Chiapas State of Mexico (Hernández-Triana et al. 2021; Viveros-Santos et al. 2022).
Material examined. MEXICO, Chiapas State, municipality of Unión Juárez, Eureka, 30 July 2018, 2♀ PeLe, 4 fourth-instar larvae, coffee plantation (15° 3′ 54″ N, 92° 7′ 3″ W), 1,354 m a.s.l.; 31 July 2018, 3 fourth-instar larvae, coffee plantation (15° 4′ 10″ N, 92° 6′ 55″ W), 1,351 m a.s.l.; municipality of Cacahoatán, El Águila, 31 July 2018, 1♁Pe, cloud forest (15° 5′ 45″ N, 92° 10′ 44″ W), 1,324 m a.s.l.; 01 August 2018, 1♀, 1♀ PeLe, 2 fourthinstar larvae, coffee plantation (15° 5′ 45″ N, 92° 10′ 44″ W), 1,324 m a.s.l.; municipality of Tapachula, Mario Souza, 03 August 2018, 1♁PeLe, coffee plantation (15° 7′ 52″ N, 92° 15′ 15″ W), 1,102 m a.s.l.; municipality of Motozintla de Mendoza, Ejido Tuxcum, 19 October 2018, 3♀, pine forest (15° 20′ 37″ N, 92° 13′ 14″ W), 2,155 m a.s.l.; Toliman, 18 October 2018, 11♀, coffee plantation (15° 19′ 38″ N, 92° 19′ 22″ W), 754 m a.s.l.
description: Published as part of Viveros-Santos, Vicente, Rivera-García, Karina D. & Ibáñez-Bernal, Sergio, 2023, The larva, pupa, and female and male genitalia of Aedes (Howardina) guatemala Berlin, 1969 (Diptera: Culicidae), pp. 109-126 in Zootaxa 5227 (1) on pages 112-121, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5227.1.5, http://zenodo.org/record/7518449