Culex (Maillotia) arbieeni Salem, 1938

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Turner, James & Azari-Hamidian, Shahyad, 2023, An overview of the mosquitoes of Saudi Arabia (Diptera: Culicidae), with updated keys to the adult females, Zootaxa 5394 (1), pp. 1-76 : 45

Culex (Maillotia) arbieeni Salem, 1938 ( Fig. 43 )

Type locality. Sinai, Egypt.

Distribution. This species is found in the Afrotropical and Palaearctic Regions ( Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019). In the Middle East and North Africa, it has been recorded in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen ( Mattingly & Knight 1956; White 1980; Harbach et al. 1989; Minář 1991; van Harten & Wagener, 1994; Brunhes et al. 2000; Alahmed et al. 2009; Al Ahmad et al. 2011; Moosa-Kazemi et al. 2009; Al Ashry et al. 2014; Azari-Hamadian et al. 2019; Wilkerson et al. 2021). It was recorded for the first time in Saudi Arabia by Alahmed et al. (2009).

Remarks. The larval siphon of Cx. arbieeni has numerous strong setae on the distal 0.67 of the dorsolateral area, a unique feature which distinguishes the species from the larvae of other species of Culex in the region ( Azari-Hamidian & Harbach 2009).

Medical importance. Culex arbieeni is of no medical importance to humans ( Becker et al. 2020).

Figures

FIGURE 43. Culex arbieeni, female (Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, photo by David Pecor, Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit).