Boussès Philippe, Marie J., Mathieu-Daudé Françoise, Kengne Pierre, Manzanilla Vincent, Lardeux Frédéric. (2026). Delayed identification of long-overlooked Aedes (Aedimorphus) nocturnus (Diptera : Culicidae) in Tahiti Island, French Polynesia. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, [Early access], p. [11 p.]. ISSN 0037-9271.
Titre du document
Delayed identification of long-overlooked Aedes (Aedimorphus) nocturnus (Diptera : Culicidae) in Tahiti Island, French Polynesia
Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 2026,
[Early access], p. [11 p.] ISSN 0037-9271
A retrospective examination of historical mosquito collections held at the Institut de Recherche pour le D & eacute;veloppement (IRD, France) and the Institut Louis-Malard & eacute; (ILM, Tahiti, French Polynesia) revealed evidence of Aedes nocturnus on the island of Tahiti dating back as early as 1993. This historical detection was corroborated by targeted field surveys conducted between 2023 and 2025, which confirmed the species' presence at multiple sites, particularly in the southern part of the island. To support these observations, COI sequences from newly collected specimens were analyzed. Although recent work favors recognizing Ae. nocturnus as a distinct species, it has historically been treated as a synonym or geographic subspecies of Ae. vexans. Consequently, the Tahitian sequences were compared with Ae. vexans sensu lato sequences from GenBank, as no Ae. nocturnus sensu stricto sequences were available. The Tahitian specimens clustered within the Pacific group of Ae. vexans, in a sub-group represented by South Pacific islands, including New Caledonia and Moorea, one of the Society Islands. This study provides the first confirmed record of Ae. nocturnus on Tahiti, based on both morphological identification and molecular evidence. The findings underscore the need to integrate molecular tools into entomological monitoring to improve species detection and prevent misidentifications in island environments where vector diversity is often underestimated.
