Comparison of Allozyme and Morphological Relationships in Some Aedes (Stegomyia) Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

Numerical-taxonomic methods were employed to determine congruence between morphological and allozymic measurements in the Aedes (Stegomyia) scutellaris group of mosquitoes. In addition, allozymes alone were used to examine relationships between three species groups (aegypti, w-albus, and scutellaris) of A. (Stegomyia). Adult morphological traits and allozymes fit well with geographic distributions and classical taxonomic assignments, whereas larval traits were less reliable. The allozyme relationships at the group and subgroup levels were consistent with previous systematic treatments, in that all species fell into independent and cohesive clusters. However, the albopictus subgroup within scutellaris showed a slightly greater affinity to w-albus than to its closer relatives in the scutellaris subgroup.