Diagnostic characters of the thoracic pleurites of mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae): Topology of setae in species of the genera Anopheles Meigen, 1818, Coquillettidia Dyar, 1905, Culex Linnaeus, 1758, Culiseta Felt, 1904, Lutzia Theobald, 1903, and Uranotaenia Lynch Arribalzaga, 1891

Abstract

Using the sampling method, we determined the ranges of intraspecific variation in the number and topology of thoracic setae in 13 species of 6 genera of the family Culicidae. In most species studied, the number of setae on thoracic sclerites was highly variable (especially that of the postpronotal, prealar, and upper mesepimeral setae), while the position of setae within each sclerite was less variable. Statistically significant differences were demonstrated for the first time between the studied species of the genus Anopheles in the number of mesepisternal and upper mesepimeral setae, and between the species of the genus Culex, also in the number of postpronotal setae. Besides, statistically significant differences in the number of prealar, mesepisternal, and mesepimeral setae were found between the genera Anopheles, Coquillettidia, Culiseta, Culex, Lutzia, and Uranotaenia, and in the number of prespiracular, postpronotal, and prealar setae, between the subspecies Culiseta alaskaensis alaskaensis and C. a. indica. Statistically significant sex dimorphism in the number of postpronotal, prealar, and mesepimeral setae was revealed for the first time in such species as Coquillettidia richiardii, Culex modestus, C. theileri, C. hortensis, and Culiseta alaskaensis.