Toxorhynchites
Encyclopedia
Toxorhynchites, also known as mosquito hawk
s or mosquito eaters, are a cosmopolitan
genus
. The genus includes the largest known species of mosquitoes, but in spite of their alarming appearance, they are among the few kinds of mosquito
that do not suck blood
. Rather, the adults subsist on whatever carbohydrate
-rich materials might be available, such as honeydew
, or saps and juices from damaged plants, refuse
, and fruit, but probably mainly nectar.
The larva
e of Toxorhynchites prey on the larvae of other mosquitoes and similar nekton
ic prey. In this respect they contrast with blood-sucking species of mosquitoes; Toxorhynchites larvae live on a protein- and fat-rich diet of aquatic animals such as mosquito larvae; they have no need to risk their lives sucking blood in adulthood, having already accumulated the necessary materials for oogenesis
and vitellogenesis
.
Female mosquitoes whose larvae, unlike those of Toxorhynchites, are detritus feeders could in principle subsist on nectar and the like, as their males in fact generally do. However, by relying on blood meals the females can produce eggs more plentifully than a diet of nectar would permit. Even though blood sucking is a risky strategy that entails more casualties, the risk is outweighed on average by the increase in the number and size of yolk-rich eggs that such protein-rich food permits.
The name "Toxorhynchites" apparently comes from the Greek
toxo meaning arrow and rhynch meaning snout.
Most species occur in forest
s. The larvae of one jungle
variety, Toxorhynchites splendens, consume larvae of other mosquito species occurring in tree crevices, particularly Aedes aegypti
. The adults of these mosquitoes are larger than Aedes
and are harmless to human
s.
Disease vector or toxin control researchers have suggested that Toxorhynchites mosquitoes be introduced
to areas outside their natural range in order to fight dengue fever
.
Mosquito hawk
Mosquito hawk can mean:*Crane fly*Dragonfly*Damselfly*A mosquito in the genus Toxorhynchites*A type of fishing fly that resembles a large insect....
s or mosquito eaters, are a cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, a taxon is said to have a cosmopolitan distribution if its range extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. For instance, the killer whale has a cosmopolitan distribution, extending over most of the world's oceans. Other examples include humans, the lichen...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
. The genus includes the largest known species of mosquitoes, but in spite of their alarming appearance, they are among the few kinds of mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
that do not suck blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
. Rather, the adults subsist on whatever carbohydrate
Carbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
-rich materials might be available, such as honeydew
Honeydew
Honeydew may refer to:* Honeydew , a cultivar group of melon* Honeydew , a sugar-rich sticky substance secreted by aphids and some scale insects* Honeydew, California, a town* Bunsen Honeydew, a fictional character from The Muppet Show...
, or saps and juices from damaged plants, refuse
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
, and fruit, but probably mainly nectar.
The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of Toxorhynchites prey on the larvae of other mosquitoes and similar nekton
Nekton
Nekton refers to the aggregate of actively swimming aquatic organisms in a body of water able to move independently of water currents....
ic prey. In this respect they contrast with blood-sucking species of mosquitoes; Toxorhynchites larvae live on a protein- and fat-rich diet of aquatic animals such as mosquito larvae; they have no need to risk their lives sucking blood in adulthood, having already accumulated the necessary materials for oogenesis
Oogenesis
Oogenesis, ovogenesis or oögenesis is the creation of an ovum . It is the female form of gametogenesis. The male equivalent is spermatogenesis...
and vitellogenesis
Vitellogenesis
Vitellogenesis is the process of yolk formation via nutrients being deposited in the oocyte, or female germ cell involved in reproduction. It starts when the fat body stimulates the release of juvenile hormones and produces vitellogenin protein. It occurs in all animal groups lower than the mammals...
.
Female mosquitoes whose larvae, unlike those of Toxorhynchites, are detritus feeders could in principle subsist on nectar and the like, as their males in fact generally do. However, by relying on blood meals the females can produce eggs more plentifully than a diet of nectar would permit. Even though blood sucking is a risky strategy that entails more casualties, the risk is outweighed on average by the increase in the number and size of yolk-rich eggs that such protein-rich food permits.
The name "Toxorhynchites" apparently comes from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
toxo meaning arrow and rhynch meaning snout.
Most species occur in forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s. The larvae of one jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
variety, Toxorhynchites splendens, consume larvae of other mosquito species occurring in tree crevices, particularly Aedes aegypti
Aedes aegypti
The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti is a mosquito that can spread the dengue fever, Chikungunya and yellow fever viruses, and other diseases. The mosquito can be recognized by white markings on legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the thorax...
. The adults of these mosquitoes are larger than Aedes
Aedes
Aedes is a genus of mosquito originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents excluding Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity. Aedes albopictus, a most invasive species was recently spread to the New World, including the U.S., by the used...
and are harmless to human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s.
Disease vector or toxin control researchers have suggested that Toxorhynchites mosquitoes be introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to areas outside their natural range in order to fight dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
.
Species
The genus Toxorhynchites is divided into 4 subgenus and contains 92 species:- Toxorhynchites bambusicolus (LutzAdolfo LutzAdolfo Lutz was a Brazilian physician, 1855-1940, father of tropical medicine and medical zoology in Brazil, and a pioneer epidemiologist and researcher in infectious diseases....
and Neiva, 1913) - Toxorhynchites brevipalpis (TheobaldFrederick Vincent TheobaldFrederick Vincent Theobald was an English entomologist.Theobald was the author of a vast monograph, in six volumes, on the Diptera, A Monograph of the Culicidae of the World . His collections are in Glasgow....
) - Toxorhynchites grandiosus (WillistonSamuel Wendell WillistonSamuel Wendell Williston was an American educator and paleontologist who was the first to propose that birds developed flight cursorially , rather than arboreally . He was also an entomologist, specialising in Diptera.-Early life:Williston was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Samuel Williston and...
, 1900) - Toxorhynchites guadeloupensis (DyarDYARDYAR Sonshine Radio is an AM station owned and operated by ACQ-Kingdom Broadcasting Network in the Philippines. The station's studio is located at 4th Floor Business Loft, D. Jakosalem St.Cebu City....
and KnabKNABKNAB may refer to:* KNAB , a radio station licensed to Burlington, Colorado, United States* KNAB-FM, a radio station licensed to Burlington, Colorado, United States* Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau in Latvia...
, 1906) - Toxorhynchites haemorrhoidalis (FabriciusJohan Christian FabriciusJohan Christian Fabricius was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others...
, 1787) - Toxorhynchites hexacis (Martini, 1901)
- Toxorhynchites mariae (Bourroul, 1904)
- Toxorhynchites montezuma (DyarDYARDYAR Sonshine Radio is an AM station owned and operated by ACQ-Kingdom Broadcasting Network in the Philippines. The station's studio is located at 4th Floor Business Loft, D. Jakosalem St.Cebu City....
and KnabKNABKNAB may refer to:* KNAB , a radio station licensed to Burlington, Colorado, United States* KNAB-FM, a radio station licensed to Burlington, Colorado, United States* Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau in Latvia...
, 1906) - Toxorhynchites portoricensis (RoederRoeder-People with the surname:*Glenn Roeder, English football manager*Lutz Roeder, creator of the .NET Reflector*Mark A. Roeder, American novelist*Ralph Roeder, an American author*Robert E. Roeder, a recipient of the United States Medal of Honor...
, 1885) - Toxorhynchites purpureus (TheobaldFrederick Vincent TheobaldFrederick Vincent Theobald was an English entomologist.Theobald was the author of a vast monograph, in six volumes, on the Diptera, A Monograph of the Culicidae of the World . His collections are in Glasgow....
, 1901) - Toxorhynchites pusillus (LimaLimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, 1931) - Toxorhynchites rutilus
- Toxorhynchites solstitialis (LutzAdolfo LutzAdolfo Lutz was a Brazilian physician, 1855-1940, father of tropical medicine and medical zoology in Brazil, and a pioneer epidemiologist and researcher in infectious diseases....
, 1904) - Toxorhynchites splendens (WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann , was a German physician, historian, naturalist and entomologist...
) - Toxorhynchites theobaldi (DyarDYARDYAR Sonshine Radio is an AM station owned and operated by ACQ-Kingdom Broadcasting Network in the Philippines. The station's studio is located at 4th Floor Business Loft, D. Jakosalem St.Cebu City....
and KnabKNABKNAB may refer to:* KNAB , a radio station licensed to Burlington, Colorado, United States* KNAB-FM, a radio station licensed to Burlington, Colorado, United States* Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau in Latvia...
, 1906) - Toxorhynchites trichopygus (WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann , was a German physician, historian, naturalist and entomologist...
, 1828) - Toxorhynchites violaceus (WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm WiedemannChristian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann , was a German physician, historian, naturalist and entomologist...
, 1821)
External links
- Toxorhynchites at the Walter ReedWalter ReedMajor Walter Reed, M.D., was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact...
Biosystematics Unit