Classical taxonomy of mosquitoes--a memorial to John N. Belkin.

The major contributions of John N. Belkin to the field of mosquito systematics are noted. Hallmarks of his publications are presented and his hypotheses about the evolution, speciation, competition, distribution and classification of mosquitoes are summarized. The current status of the field of mosquito systematics is examined. It is argued that mosquito systematics is still largely at the alpha taxonomy level, that at best only 25-50% of mosquito species are known, and that we have not even begun to develop a natural classification for the Culicidae. It is concluded that there will be little improvement in the status of mosquito taxonomy unless there is increased support for systematics.