Genus Phagomyia Theobald, 1905
Phagomyia gubernatoris (Giles, 1901), original combination: Culex gubernatoris.
Subfamily Culicinae, tribe Aedini. Phagomyia includes 16 species, one represented by two subspecies. Genus abbreviation – Ph.
Tanaka (2014, 2018), in a catalogue of the mosquitoes of Japan, listed previously unrecognised subgenera for Phagomyia, a nominotypical subgenus and a species group (oreophila-group) treated as a subgenus without a formal name. These ‘subgenera’ were not accompanied by a description or diagnosis and were listed without an explicit indication that they were new. In the absence of this, despite being included in a dichotomous key based on features of the male genitalia, they cannot be accepted as formally (validly) established subgeneric taxa (or even species groups).
Species of Phagomyia are characterised and distinguished from species of other genera of Aedini by the following combinations of characters. Characters that diagnose the genus in the phylogenetic analyses of Reinert et al. (2009), based on features observed in Ph. gubernatoris and Ph. lophoventralis, are indicated by an asterisk (*).
ADULTS – Vertex of head with broad decumbent scales medially; maxillary palpus of males with numerous long setae arising apically on palpomere 3, all along palpomere 4, some on palpomere 5; *scutum with large anterior area covered with pale scales (covering anterior 0.30–0.70 of acrostichal, dorsocentral and scutal fossal areas), pale scaling sometimes divided partially or completely in middle (*anterior and *posterior acrostichal areas without pale stripe), with *patch of pale scales on anterior supraalar-posterior antealar area, *scales on anterior part of antealar area all dark; *anterior dorsocentral setae absent; postpronotum with patch of broad scales, sometimes without scales; subspiracular scales and postspiracular scales absent; prealar scales present or absent; *remigium of wing[ without dorsal setae; foretibia with a dorsal white area near or at apex; hindtarsomere 1 with *basal and *apical pale bands or spots, tarsomere 2 with pale basal band or spot, sometimes with pale scaling over joint between tarsomeres 2 and 3 or few pale scales at base of tarsomere 3; some abdominal sterna with outstanding or roughened scales posteriorly. FEMALE GENITALIA – Tergum VIII and sternum VIII wider than long, tergum densely covered with scales, sternum with few or no scales; postgenital lobe long and relatively narrow, with setae on 0.44–0.65 of ventral surface; cercus sharply oblique distally, without scales; both upper and lower vaginal sclerites present; insula lip-like, with 2–5 setae on either side of midline. MALE GENITALIA – Gonocoxite without tuft of specialised scales, *with row or patch of long lanceolate setae on mesal area of ventral surface; claspette filament curved, blade-like. LARVAE – Median labral plate indistinguishably fused with dorsal apotome; seta 1-C slender or stout and spiniform (*single, thin, distal part attenuate); *seta 4-C inserted posterior to seta 6-C; seta 7-C inserted far posterior to base of antenna, *single (rarely double); *seta 2-T branched; seta 12-I present; comb scales rounded and evenly fringed. PUPAE – Trumpet with weakly developed tracheoid area; seta 2-II inserted lateral to seta 1-II; seta 6-III single; seta 9-VIII inserted on posterolateral corner of segment; paddle without fringe of hair-like spicules; *seta 1-Pa long, *0.40–0.60 length of paddle; seta 2-Pa absent. See Aedini.
Knight & Marks (1952) noted that Phagomyia (as the Gubernatoris Subgroup of Aedes subgenus Finlaya) seemed to be most closely related to Downsiomyia (as the Niveus Subgroup of Aedes subgenus Finlaya). Rattanarithikul et al. (2010) indicated, without specifically suggesting phylogenetic relationships, that adults of Phagomyia generally resemble those of Christophersiomyia, Downsiomyia and Jihlienius in having the anterior area of the scutum largely pale-scaled and the hindtarsomeres with basal and apical pale bands; they also stated that larvae resemble those of Jihlienius, but did not indicate how they resemble one another. Phagomyia was recovered as the sister of Jihlienius in the phylogenetic studies of Reinert et al. (2009) and Wilkerson et al. (2015) based on cladistic analyses of morphological data from all life stages. Species of the genus were recovered in a paraphyletic relationship relative to Geoskusea + Kenknightia in the maximum likelihood phylogeny of Soghigian et al. (2017) based on seven molecular markers.
The immature stages of Phagomyia species are commonly found in rock pools, rock holes, tree holes, stump holes, bamboo stumps, bamboo pots, bamboo internodes, split bamboo and occasionally in artificial containers. Adult females are known to bite humans.
Species of Phagomyia are not of medical and economic importance to humans.
Species of Phagomyia primarily occur in the Oriental Region. One or two species extend into far eastern areas of the Palaearctic, one occurs in Southeast Asia and Sulawesi and at least two species are known from the Australasian Region (northern Australia and New Guinea).
Knight & Marks, 1952 (as Subgroup III, Gubernatoris, of Aedes subgenus Finlaya, taxonomy); Reinert et al., 2006, 2008, 2009 (generic status, taxonomy, morphology, phylogeny); Rattanarithikul et al., 2010 (Thailand, keys, bionomics); Reinert, 2008 (female genitalia). The adults and larvae of all but five of the species of Phagomyia (iwi, kiangsiensis, melanoptera, plumifera and watasei) are treated by Barraud (1934), as species of Aedes (Finlaya); Wilkerson et al., 2015 (as subgenus of Aedes, phylogeny); Soghigian et al., 2017 (as subgenus of Aedes, phylogenetic relationships).
