Description and comparison of morphological structures of the eggs of Anopheles hyrcanus group and related species (Diptera: Culicidae) from the Republic of Korea

The eggs of six Anopheles Hyrcanus Group (An. sinensis Wiedemann, An. kleini Rueda, An. belenrae Rueda, An. pullus M. Yamada, An. lesteri Baisas and Hu, An. sineroides S. Yamada) and related species (An. koreicus S. Yamada and Watanabe, An. lindesayi japonicus S. Yamada), were described from scanning electron micrographs of specimens collected from different localities of the Republic of Korea. Morphometric measurements of egg samples of the eight species were compared and relationships analyzed by multivariate statistics. About 27 characters were selected and used as a basis for principal and discriminant function analyses. Scanning electron micrographs of various parts of the eggs were selected to illustrate interspecific differences for particular morphological features (e.g. anterior and posterior tubercles, decks, plastron, micropyles, floats).