Aedes malayensis was first described in 1963 by Australian entomologist Donald Henry Colless as a subspecies of Aedes scutellaris from males collected at Pulau Hantu, Keppel Harbor, Singapore.Thomas V. Gaffigan, Richard C. Wilkerson, James E. Pecor, Judith A. Stoffer and Thomas Anderson. 2016. "Aedes » Stegomyia » malayensis Colless" in Systematic Catalog of Culicidae, Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/taxon_descr.aspx?ID=21828, accessed 13 Feb 2016. In 1972 the subspecies was elevated to species status by Yiau-Min Huang,Yiau-Min Huang. 1972. Contributions to the Mosquito Fauna of Southeast Asia. XIV. The Subgenus Stegomyia of Aedes in Southeast Asia. I - The Scutellaris Group of Species. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 9(1): 1-109; http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA510169. although the move was disputed by the original describer on biological as opposed to morphological principles.D. H. Colless. 1973. A Note on the Status of Aedes malayensis and the Distribution of Aedes albopictus. Mosquito Systematics, 5(3):225-226; http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/files/pdfs/MS05N03P225.pdf .
Bionomics
The immature stages of Aedes malayensis are found mainly in tree holes, bamboo stumps, coconut shells and artificial containers. The species' distribution includes Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Medical Importance
Although no direct role as a vector of disease has been definitively elucidated for Aedes malayensis, the females are known to bite humans and dengue virus has been transovarially transmitted experimentally in the species.H.L. Lee and A. Rohani. 2005. Transovarial Transmission of Dengue Virus in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Relation to Dengue Outbreak in an Urban Area in Malaysia. Dengue Bulletin, 29: 106-111; http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/164121/1/dbv29p106.pdf.
References