Conservatively the subfamily Culicinae contains 40 genera, but as alreadymentioned (see Chapter 1) some taxonomists recognize many more genera, two ofwhich are Stegomyia and Ochlerotatus,resulting in two medically important species being named Stegomyiaaegypti and Ochlerotatus albopictus. However, inthis book all species attributed to these two new genera are retained in thegenus Aedes, such as Aedes aegypti andAedes albopictus, with Stegomyia andOchlerotatus recognized as subgenera.

The medically most important genera are Culex,Aedes, Haemagogus,Sabethes and Mansonia, whileCoquillettidia and Psorophora are oflesser importance. Species of Culex, Aedes andCoquillettidia are found in both temperate and tropicalregions, whereas Psorophora species occur only in North,Central and South America. Haemagogus andSabethes mosquitoes are restricted to Central and SouthAmerica. Mansonia occurs mainly in the tropics.

Certain Aedes mosquitoes are vectors of yellow fever in Africa,and Aedes, Haemagogus andSabethes are yellow fever vectors in Central and SouthAmerica. Aedes species are also vectors of the classical andhaemorrhagic forms of dengue. All seven genera of culicine mosquitoes mentionedhere, as well as some others, can transmit a variety of other arboviruses. SomeCulex, Aedes and Mansoniaspecies are important vectors of filariasis (Wuchereria bancrofti orBrugia malayi). Psorophora species are mainly pestmosquitoes but a few transmit arboviruses, while Coquillettidiacrassipes can also be a vector of brugian filariasis.