Morphological variation in invasive mosquito <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> Say (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae from an urban site in Auckland, New Zealand

Larvae of the invasive mosquito <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> Say are morphologically similar to those of the native <i>Culex pervigilans</i> Bergroth, yet distinguishing these species can be hampered by morphological variations in <i>Cx. quinquefasciatus.</i> We present detail about the extent of these variations in an urban population of <i>Cx. quinquefasciatus</i> in Auckland. To aid in identification of this exotic species, we provide images of key diagnostic characters and some observed exceptions to these. Details regarding variation in diagnostic characters for 90% of larvae, although these characters were not always visible. Other characters were less reliable, for instance, the expected position of seta 1a-S in relation to the pecten teeth was observed in &lt; 10% of larvae. Further exploration of regional morphological variation in both <i>Cx. quinquefasciatus</i> and <i>Cx. pervigilans</i> is recommended, ideally with associated molecular characterisation.

入侵性蚊虫致倦库蚊（*Culex quinquefasciatus*）Say的幼虫，在形态学上与本土的新西兰库蚊（*Culex pervigilans*）Bergroth幼虫高度相似，但致倦库蚊的形态变异会对两物种的区分造成阻碍。本研究针对奥克兰地区致倦库蚊的城市种群，详细阐明了该物种的形态变异幅度。为辅助该外来入侵物种的鉴定，我们提供了关键分类鉴定特征的图像，并记录了观察到的部分例外情形。针对90%的幼虫个体，我们梳理了其分类鉴定特征的变异情况，但此类特征并非始终可被观测到。其余部分特征的可靠性较低，例如仅在不足10%的幼虫个体中观测到了按预期应存在的1a-S刚毛与栉齿的相对位置关系。建议进一步开展致倦库蚊与新西兰库蚊的区域形态变异研究，理想情况下应配套开展相关分子特征鉴定工作。