Culex (Culex) mimeticus Noé, 1899

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 : 34

Culex (Culex) mimeticus Noé, 1899 ( Fig. 32 )

Type locality. Grassano in Basilicata, Italy.

Distribution. This species is found in the Oriental and Palaearctic Regions ( Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019). In the Middle East and North Africa, it is found in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey ( Abdel-Malek 1960; Harbach 1985, 1988; Harbach et al. 1989; Minář 1991; Amr et al. 1997; Al-Khalili et al. 2000; Alten et al. 2000; Brunhes et al. 2000; Knio et al. 2005; Rueda et al. 2008; Al Ashry et al. 2014; Tabbabi et al. 2017; Trari et al. 2017; Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019; Wilkerson et al. 2021). It was recorded for the first time in Saudi Arabia by Harbach (1985).

Remarks. The adults of Cx. mimeticus are unique among the culicines of the region in having spotted wings similar to species of Anopheles (Cellia) ( Harbach 1988) .

Medical importance. Nothing is known about the disease relations of this species ( Harbach 1988).

Figures

FIGURE 32. Culex mimeticus, female (photo by James Turner, National Museum of Wales).