Comparative studies on Culex bitaeniorhynchus Giles (1901) and its tenax variant (Diptera: Culicidae) in Chandigarh, India

Abstract

During present investigations the detailed morphotaxonomic studies of Culex bitaeniorhychus revealed that it exists in two forms i.e typical and tenax in and around Chandigarh. Various intraspecific variations in the morphology and male genitalia were observed in both these forms. The main aim of this study is to distinguish these two forms of Cx. bitaeniorhynchus and their separation from other closely related species. The intraspecific variants of these forms have been studied further with respect to phallosome regions of the male genitalia. For assessing the significant differences among their phenotypic characteristics one–way ANOVA was done along with pair-wise comparisons of samples means. Some of the earlier workers have considered tenax form, a synonym of Cx. infula which is another closely related species of Cx. bitaeniorhynchus. But, on the basis of remarkable differences observed between tenax and infula, it is suggested that these two are separate taxons and should not be synonymised.