NOTES ON MOSQUITOES ON LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK.

WASHINGTON.

Schwarz

^statesthat in lifethelarva

was

covered

by

^awhite

waxy

secretion

which

is

now

dissolved

by

the alcohol.

The

secretion of the host has likewise disappeared, bothinthealcoholicandthe dry specimens, ^but

Mr. Schwarz

thinks that it

was

_originally present.

The

color of the larvais destroyed by ^{the alcohol,} but

it

was

an obscure whitish. All these characters agree with

Epipyrops ^anomala.

As

to the systematic position ofthis insect, ^I cannot_agreewith any published opinion.

That

of Sir

George Hampson,

referring

itto the Limacodidas is the

most

reasonable, but ^is negatived,

among

other characters,

by

the structure of vein S of the hind

wings and by

^the

abdominal

feetof the larva. It is a Tineoid form, apparently not referable to the Tineidae proper.

Mey-

rick's tables

seem

to place ^{it in}the Zeuzeridaa,

Hampson's

^inthe

Dalceridae; but it will probably prove deserving ^of separate family rank.

[Dr.

Howard

hassincecalled

my

^attentiontoa note (Proc.Ent.

Soc. Lond., p. xx, 1883) recording ^this genus

from

Central America, but ^{the larvaB}

were

_apparently not bred.

The

note is

by

Mr. Champion ^and

^states that Iarva3

were

not infrequently found attached to and _feeding

on

the white _cottony secretion so

abundant

about

some

of the smaller Fulgoridae.

As _many

as three larvae had been seen attached to one imago.

The

_Fulgori

dae

were

very sluggish ^{in their} habits.]

Mr. Benton

called attention to a particular ⁱⁿ which, he

had

observed, the Cyprian variety of bees differ in their habits from native

and

Italian varieties. Instead of driving out

and

_killing

all drones atthe endof the

honey

harvest, they ^kill about four- fifths of

them and

_permit the others to

go back

into the hive, only gradually destroyingthese, and, ⁱⁿ

some

_{instances, permit}

ting ^a few to live over the entire

w

^rinter, even in colonies nor mally supplied with queens.

Dr.

Dyar

^then presented the following paper^:

NOTES ON MOSQUITOES ON LONG _ISLAND, NEW YORK.

By ^{HARRISON G. DYAR.}

Tnese

observations

were made

at Bellport and Amagansett.

The

_villageof Bellport^ison thesouthshore of

Long

Island,about the middle of the length of the ^island on Great South Bay.

The

land isflat

and

_{sandy, cut}

by

sluggish streams forming ^lakes and pools.

The

_bay isstrongly brackish but without salt marshesin this vicinity. Mosquitoes

were

abundant in the season of 1901.

The woods and

_grass

swarmed

with Culex sollicitans

and

C.

cantans, while

Culex and Anopheles

entered the house in

some numbers

_{in spite} ofscreens. Larvae

were

foundin varioussitua tions, as will bedescribed in detail in the following ^notes.

No

larvae

were

seen, however, ⁱⁿ any

body

^ofwater large

enough

^to be

roughened by

^{the wind, nor in}

any

^{water so shaded}

by

^the

woods

as to be dark. Several suspicious looking pools hidden

inthe dark

woods were

barren of mosquito larvae, though ^the adults

swarmed

there as they didalmost

everywhere

^else.

Anopheles

^crucians

Wied.

This

was

the

commonest _Anopheles

in the house, though ^not bred from collected larvae. Several

examples were

^{taken in the}

actof biting.

Anopheles punctipennis

Say.

Not common

as adult, though ^{the larvae} occurred in

numbers

with the following species ⁱⁿ nearly equal proportion. Dr.

Howard

states in his publications on mosquitoes ^{that the larva} differsfrom thatofmaculipennis, "chieflyⁱⁿthe

markings

^{of the} head." I

was

not_able, however, ^to differentiate

them by

^{this or} anyother very ^definite character.

The _Anopheles

^larvae occur

in

two

forms, one with the

back

_spottedwithwhite, the other

un

spotted.

These were

_separated, but gave both species ⁱⁿ nearly equal proportion.

A

_puddle

_{formed by}

rain at theside of the road contained a pure colony ^of punctipennis,

and

these

were

almost_entirely of thewhite_spotted form. This _particularcolony

was

entirely killed

by

^thedrying^{of the} puddle shortly^afterI

had

collected from it.

A

similar puddle near

Washington, D.

^C., contained this species,

unmixed.

Anopheles maculipennis Meig.

The

larvaeoccurred

more

orless

commonly

ⁱⁿnearlyeverypool

and

_pond,

and

evenintheblacksmith's rain-waterbarrel.

A few

could be found along ^the stagnant margins ^of swiftly flowing streams.

A.

punctipennisusually occurred mixed,^{infact it}

was

generallyslightlythe

more abundant

ofthe two.

The _Anopheles

imagoes ^{did not} flyaboutthe streams

where

their larvae occurred, at least they did not attempt ^to bite, whereas

swarms

of

Culex

occurredⁱⁿsuch localities,especially C.sollicitans,

whose

breed ing places

were

miles

away. The

maculationof the

Anopheles

larva varies from

none

^to a

few

dots oracomplete

band

of white

pigment down

the back.

This pigment

^isintheskin,

and

isoften very white ^likeporcelain.

The

^larvae

seem

darkerasarulethan punctipennis,

and

thewhite _spots,

when

present, are

more

con

trasted.

The

heads

seem

to

me

tobe practically ^identical.

Culexsollicitans

Walk.

Abundant everywhere;

^the

most common

_mosquito.

_They were

very troublesome except^{atthe actual}breedingplaces,

where

they

were

_scarcely

more

fierce than house flies.

Apparently

they are not prepared ^{to bite} immediately^afteremergence.

The

breedingplaces of^this mosquito

were

not found tillnear theend of

my

stay, sothat I

had begun

^{to think I should not find}

them

atall.

However

_{a place}

was

found at

Amagansett where

^the speciesbred inswarms.

The

land behindthebeach atthis point

is

low

and had been flooded at

some

time _previously

by

high

waves

; subsequent ^rains had diluted this water.

The swampy

pool

which

itformed, ^{full of}grass,

was examined on September

16th. ^It

was

at that time _scarcely perceptibly brackish to the taste. Itcontained

many

pupae

and

a

few

_well-grownlarvae_;

no young

^ones.

The

_grass in

and

about the pool fairly

swarmed

with _freshly

emerged

sollicitans.

A

_heavyrain

had

occurredthe previous day ^sothat the pool

was

_evidently

more

diluted than it

had

been

and

it

was

too fresh for

normal

_breeding.

Of

the ex

amples

^carried

home

those atfirst

emerging were

^all sollicitans, but the later ones

were

cantans. I did notat this time differ entiatethe larvae of these _species.

They ^must

^be very ^similar.

The

adult

must

_flyconsiderable distances. It

was

notedat

Yap-

hank,

which

isthree miles

from

the bay

and

over six miles

from

the ocean. It

was

_only

somewhat

less

common

than cantans at thatplace,

and

I should judge ^itcapable ^ofreaching ^the

mid

dle of the island (15 miles). Since writing ^the preceding ^re marks, ^Prof. _J. ^B.

Smith

has loaned

me some

larvae thathe is

sure are sollicitans.

They

^are indeed very ^{similar to}

my

^can-

tans.

The

hairs are a little shorter,theairtubealso shorter, be ing scarcely

more

than twice aslong ^as wide,

and

the lateral

comb

of the eighth

abdominal segment

^consistsof fewer, _slightly

more

irregularly shaped spines^{; lout} the characters are _{so slight} that I

am

doubtful if they can be used in practical differentia tion.

Culex cantans Meigen.

Nearly^as

common

as the preceding,

and more

troublesome and persistent in the

woods,

though ^less

common

in the ho'use.

The

larvae breed in fresh-water

swamps formed by

^{rain in}

low

ly

m

_g>

_g

rassv_places.

A low

_place near the beach at Bellport, located

much

as the one at

Amagansett

^{above referred to, but} lyingbehinda higher bar of sand,

was

not reached

by

^the high waves. It

was

_{dry on}

August

27thbut

was

filledwithfreshwater

by

subsequent ^rains.

On _September

_I3th it contained

many

larvae invarious stages ofdevelopment,

some

of

which

_pupated the following day.

They emerged

mostly cantans,

though

^one

example

of sollicitans

came

outwith thewhite _ring

on

thepro boscisvery ^small and a larva of territans

was

seen with the others.

The

larvae fed

on

the flocculent

brown

^{sediment at the} bottom of the pool.

Some

transferred _{to jars}convertedall of the sediment included with

them

into pellets of frass in a

few

_days.

A

fresh-water

Hydroid

^{occurred in the}

same

pool and proved ^a serious

enemy

^{to the} mosquitoes.

A

_single

_example

fastened it

self tothe sideof the glass

and

devoured all of the larvae but one before it

was

noticed

what was

_goingon. It caught ^{the larvae} with its tentacles

and

_digested

them

_bodily.

Some

of the larvae

were

_nearly covered with a little stalked Protozoon (Vorticella), but it

seemed

to do

them no

obvious harm.

Culcx

t&niorhynchus Wied.

Not common, _though

^several

^were

taken, both out of doors

and

in the house.

The

larva

was

not

met

with.

Culex pipiens ^Linn.

This_species,bred

commonly

ⁱⁿevery rain-waterbarrel,bucket, or old tin can in the town,

and

_apparently

nowhere

else.

The

larva

was

not seen in

any

^{of the natural bodiesof water.}

The

fly entered the house to

some

_extent, but

was

not

much

trouble out of doors, except

on

the porch,

and

eventheresollicitans

was

the

more

persistent.

The

larvae feed

upon

^bacteria.

A

dish of water

which was

turbid

and

_{foullysmelling}

was

_quickly cleared

and

^all odor _destroyed

by

^{these larvae.}

Some were

introduced into water

from which

a

number

of cantans larvae

had

_just been removed, _intending

them

as food ^for the

Hydroid;

^butthey ^all died in a

few

hours without any obvious ^reason. Apparently they cannot live in water fit for cantans,

which

lived in this

same

water for

weeks

afterward.

There

seems no reason to doubtbutthat thisspecies^isreallythe

European

^C. pipiens Linn.

Culex territans

Walk.

This

was

identified for

me _{by Mr.}

Coquillett, ^as

were

^all the species. ^It

was

_previously

known

to

him

onlvbv Walker's de scription, and there

seem

to havebeen no specimensⁱⁿ

American

collections.

The

_fly

was

not

common, ^and

^looks very

much

like pipiens, so that it

would

have been hard to identify^it in the field.

The

^larvae prefer cold water.

A

cold spring, forming ^a pool about 20 feet in diameter, contained

numbers

of these larvae, witha few

Anopheles

^{; a}rather cold lake

formed by

^a

dam

ina small stream

overhung by

^{treescontained}

some

larvaewith an

abundance

^of

Anopheles

^andavery fewUranotaenia.

They ^were

not found in a

warm, scummy

pool,

which

yielded the other speciesfreely.

The

larva is distinct

from

the other Culex here noted

by

^the peculiarly colored antennae, white in the middle

and

blackish at thebase

and

_tip.

WASHINGTON. 49 The

^{larvae of the}above four species of

Culex

resemble each other in general ^structure.

They

^{differ inseveral}

^minor

^char

acters.

Pip

^lens

and

territans agree ⁱⁿ having ^a long, slender breathing tube, ^that of territans being especially long,

and

ⁱⁿ the position of the antennal ^tuft,welldeveloped ^{at the outerthird} of the_joint.

They

^{differin thebroad head} of territans with the antennae_distinctly

banded

with white

and

thenarrower head_{of pi-} piens withpale luteous orinfuscated,

unbanded

antennae. Sollici- tansand cantans agree ⁱⁿ the shorter conical or fusiform breath ing^tube, the antennae blackish attheouter _half, with the tuft at the middle of the _joint, often

weak

^or invisible.

They

^{do not}

sensibly ^differ; certainly not in anyreadily appreciable character that I have been able to find. All the larvae from the

Ama-

gansett

marsh had

_veryshort anal finger-shaped processes, while those from _Bellport

had them

_{moderately long,} butboth colonies

were

mixed.

Anyway,

the length of the anal fingers ^is not a specific character.

The

habits appear ^to be_correctly expressed ^asfollows: Living^incoldsprings or^{lakes territans.}

Living^{insmallconfinedbodies ofrain} water _pipiens.

Living^{in fresh}water_grassy marshes cantans.

Livingⁱⁿ saltwater grassy marshes sollicitans.

Uranotccnia sapphirina ^O.-S.

The

larvae occurred rather

commonly

^{in a}

warm

_pool filled

with green algae (Spirogyra) along with Anopheles.

A few were

found in thecold _{lake, as} above noted.

The

little larvse remain mostly ^atthesurface, not being easily disturbed.

They

floatflatly,though

below

the surface _film,

and were

several times mistaken for the

Anopheles

^with

which

_they occurred.

The

head iselongate

and

blackish

brown,

^{the hairs of the first}

two abdominal

_segments are long, the ^rest short

and

stellate. Alto gether the larva presents a

good

generic type, quite^distinct

from

both Culex

and

_Anopheles.

The

little adults caused no trouble

and were

not seen _flying. I give a

more

_complete description ofthisform in another_{place. (Jour.}

N. Y.

_{Ent. Soc., ix,}

179, 1902.)

Prof.

Smith

records this species^ashaving been bred

from

the pitcher plant (Ent.

News,

xii, 189, 1901), but he informs

me _by

letter thatthepublished ^statementis an error

and

thathe has not bred sapphirina.

I exhibit, for comparison with ^the foregoing, drawings ^of

Psorophora

^ciliata Fab.,

made from

Dr.

Howard's

_specimens

which were

loaned to

me _{by Mr.}

_Kotinsky,

Aedes

smithii Coq.,

from

pitcher plant ^larvae obligingly sent ^to

me _by

Prof. Smith, after

whom

the species

was named, Stegomvia

fasciata Fab., from larvae

which

I

owe

to the kindness of Dr.

W.

C.

Reed,

^of the

Army

^Medical

^{Museum, and}

^Culex; confinis

Lynch, which

^I

collected near

Washington, D.

^{C. Prof.}

Smith

has also let

me

see larvae of Culex canadensis Theobald,

which

I cannotdistin guish from ^C. cantans very sharply.

The

air tube is a little

longer

and

slenderer,

and

the anal _fingers are longer than the segment, but these characters

seem

varietal rather than _specific.

These drawings

^{coverall the}mosquito ^larvae

known

atthetime of writing. ^It appears from Dr.

Howard's book

that Culex im-

piger had

^{been bred; but I learn}

from Mr.

_Coquillett that thisis

an _error,

and

that the flies bred

by Mr.

Pratt as there described (page 79) really belong^{to C.} pipiens. ^I have myself

examined Mr.

Pratt's ^flies

and

_{agree with}

Mr.

Coquillett.

Finally, ^I

show

a

drawing

^{of a} very ^{curious larva} without

mouth

brush, the antennas jointedonthe

upper

surface of thehead instead ofon the sides, arida lateral fringe on the widest _{part of} the head.

The

last thoracic

segment and

^first

two abdominal

ones bear lateral conical prolongations.

The

air tube isshort, uniform; anal

segment

^withfour short, often invisible, fingers, a paired dorsal

and

_single ventral tuft_;

no

lateral

comb

on the eighth abdominal segment. Hairsof last thoracic

and

first

two abdominal

_{segmentslong, the} rest shorter,butthoseof the eighth

abdominal segment

longer thanthe preceding ^ones.

Mr.

_Coquillett has

named

^this _species Corcthra brakeleyi (Ent.

News,

xiii,85, 1902).

The

_following table presents the differences between our

mos

quito ^{larvae in} synoptic form. ^I have not included Corethra or

Mochlonyx,

genera belonging ^tothe Culicidae, asthe adultshave no _proboscis

and

are, therefore, not ''mosquitoes."

Mochlonyx

culiciformis ^is roughly figured

by DeGeer

without

mouth

_brush,

and

with the curious bent antennas arising from the side of the head, notfrom the uppersurface, as in ourCorethra.

The

larva

is said to float horizontally ⁱⁿ the water, but ^it has a distinct breathing ^tube, notsessileas in Anopheles.

Mouthhairs diffusely tufted, foldedinward in retraction.

Air tube short, sessile; larvae floating atthe surface of water.

Eyeslongitudinal.

Abdominalhairs unequal; ^ventralbrush normal,large.

Bodypaler,theheadcontrasting darker. ..Anopheles punctipennis.

Bodydarker, theheadnot contrasting Anophelesmaculipennis.

Airtube longer than wide; larvae floatingbelowthe surface of water.

Eyes transverse.

Airtube elongate, four times^aslong^aswide.

Lateral

comb

_{of eighth} abdominal segment ^a patch of simple spines.

Antennaewithtuftbeyond^middleofjoint, large.

Head_square; airtube verylong Culexterritans.

Headrounded; ^airtube moderate Culex pipiens.

Airtubeshort,^less than four timesas long^aswide.

Anal processes slender or reduced.

Lateral

comb

a patch ofsimplespines. Culex canadensis.

Culexcantans.

Culexsollicitans.

Lateral

comb

a row of few _{large spines,} with

toothed basal _plates Culex_coiijinis.

Analprocesses ^dilated.

Lateral

comb

arowofseveral spines, with

elongate basal plates Stegomyiafasciata.

Eyes roundedor longitudinal.

Abdominalhairs equal, ventralbrush absent.

Anal _processesdilated (2); head without_conspicu

ous hairs Aedessmithii.

Abdominalhairsunequal; ^ventral brush normal.

Analprocesses slender,normal _(4); head

with four_largecoarseblack hairs Uranotcenia sapphirina.

Mouthhairs in a pairofremote_pencils, foldedoutward, in retraction.

Eyeslongitudinal; ^airtube longerthanwide.

Anal_processesvery long, tapering^attip; ventral

brush _present Psorophora^ciliata.

This

communication

occasioned

much

interest

and was

dis cussed atlength

by

^{several of the}

members and

others present.

Mr.

Kotinsky^saidhe

had

rearedlarvaeof

Anopheles punctipennis from

_pools

on Mount

Pleasant,

D.

C.

Some

of thelarvae

were

of a greenish ^color. Prof.

Smith

said that, in his experience,

Anopheles

bred everywhere.

A. punctipennis was

^the

common

speciesⁱⁿ

New

_Jersey.

A. maculipennis was much

less

common