Journal of Vector Ecology (2014) 39, 204-212

Jessica Börstler, Renke Lühken, Martin Rudolf, Sonja Steinke, Christian Melaun, Stefanie Becker, Rolf Garms and Andreas Krüger (2014)
The use of morphometric wing characters to discriminate female Culex pipiens and Culex torrentium
Journal of Vector Ecology 39 (1), 204-212
Abstract: The reliability of the length of wing radial vein r_2/3 as a character for the morphological discrimination of the two potential arbovirus vectors Culex pipiens s.s. and Cx. torrentium from Germany was reassessed, after this character had been neglected for more than 40 years. Additionally, multivariate morphometric analyses were applied to evaluate wing shape variation between both species. Although high-throughput molecular tools are now available to differentiate the two species, a simple, low-cost routine alternative may be useful in the absence of a molecular laboratory, such as under semi-field conditions. A thin-plate splines transformation confirmed that primarily the shrinkage of vein r_2/3 is responsible for the wing differences between the two species. In the bivariate analysis, the r_2/3/r₃ indices of Cx. pipiens s.s. and Cx. torrentium were 0.185 and 0.289, respectively, resulting in a correct classification of more than 91% of all tested specimens. Using the absolute length of vein r_2/3 alone still allowed for more than 90% accurate discrimination. Furthermore, classification accuracy of linear discriminant analysis exceeded 97%.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Renke Lühken

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
identification/taxonomy

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Culex pipiens		France
	Culex pipiens		Germany
	Culex torrentium		France
	Culex torrentium		Germany