Simulium (Nevermannia) aureohirtum Brunetti, 1911

Takaoka, Hiroyuki, Sofian-Azirun, Mohd, Ya’Cob, Zubaidah, Chen, Chee Dhang, Lau, Koon Weng & Pham, Xuan Da, 2015, The black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Thua Thien Hue and Lam Dong Provinces, Vietnam, Zootaxa 3961 (1), pp. 1-96 : 58

Simulium (Nevermannia) aureohirtum Brunetti, 1911

Simulium aureohirtum Brunetti, 1911: 283 –288 (Male).

Simulium (Nevermannia) aureohirtum ; Ogata, 1956: 61–62; Ogata, 1966: 129; Crosskey, 1987: 459; Takaoka & Roberts, 1988: 194–195; Takaoka, 2003: 37–45 (Female, male, pupa and larva).

Simulium (Eusimulium) aureohirtum: Puri, 1933:1 –7; Takaoka, 1979: 382–384 (Female, male, pupa and larva).

Specimens examined. Eight females, 14 males, two pupal exuviae, and 10 mature larvae, collected from a slowflowing main channel (width 2–4 m, depth 10–20 cm, water temperature 22.0˚C, exposed to the sun, altitude 1,443 m, 11˚59’25.511” N/108˚22’06.350” E), 21 km from Dalat, Suoi Vang, Lac Duong District, Lam Dong Province, southern Vietnam, 25-IV-2014, by H. Takaoka, M. Sofian-Azirun, Z. Ya’cob, C.D. Chen & K.W. Lau.

Distribution. India, Bhutan, China, Guam, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.

Remarks. This species belongs to the S. ruficorne species-group, and is characterized by the unique female and male genitalia, pupal gill with six filaments and larval head capsule with bold head spots (Takaoka 2003). This is the only autogenous species in the Oriental Region, of which the female can develop the first batch of eggs without blood-meals ( Takaoka and Noda 1979). The pupae and larvae of this species appear to be highly adapted to relatively high water temperatures, slow flow and even somewhat muddy or contaminated waters, where most other simuliid species do not occur (Takaoka 2003). As noted previously ( Takaoka et al. 2014c), these capabilities, together with other factors, may explain why this species is widely distributed in the Oriental Region and extends into the Palearctic and Australasian Regions.