24 MOSQUITOES OF NORTH AMEEICA 



Forested regions of tropical America. 



The genus Sahethes was established on the peculiar sealing of the legs, and 

 was discarded by subsequent authors as insufficiently founded. Arribalzaga 

 apparently had no specimens before him, and makes the erroneous supposition 

 that the males have long palpi. Theobald places the genus wrongly in his first 

 volume, having not noted the setge upon the postnotum, but corrects the matter 

 in a footnote. He still uses the leg-tufts to define the genus. We are able to 

 adduce more reliable characters for the genus, which is a good one. 



The type of Sabethes is obviously Sabethes locuples, as Desvoidy mentions this 

 first, describes it as new, and it was the only species before him. He quotes 

 Fabricius's description of Culex longipes as possibly belonging to the genus. 

 Blanchard is, therefore, incorrect in citing longipes Fabricius as the type of 

 Sabethes. 



jSTothing is known of the early stages and very little about the life history of 

 the genus. The adults are diurnal, inhabiting forests. Concerning a Brazilian 

 species, for which we propose the name Sabethes goeldii* Prof. Dr. Goeldi says : 



" The mosquitoes of the genus Sabethes are frequent in the forests, even in 

 the municipal grove, in Utinga and in Murutucii. They follow persons from 

 the time they enter the woods until they leave them again, but it is seldom 

 that it happens that they actually bite. The specimen which served as the 

 model for our colored figure entered during bright sunlight at midday on the 

 20th of October, 1903, from the garden, through the window into the residence 

 of the director. It was captured in a large glass tube and died some hours 

 afterwards ; it gave ample time to appreciate its exquisite attitude of flight and 

 fix it in a sketch, the absolute fidelity of which we guarantee. The front legs 

 are elevated in the form of an S ; the middle pair are lowered and raised in an 

 abrupt curve over the abdomen until the tips almost touch the hind margin of 

 the thorax; while the hind pair is kept raised. This flight has a very elegant 

 appearance, the mosquito, as if it wished to be admired, remains stationary in 

 the air, now here, now there, for some little time, simply vibrating its wings. 



" That the females accept blood we verified with certainty with a number of 

 individuals ; 7 other specimens were fed with honey and water, refusing blood. 

 These remained alive from 1 to 5 days without laying eggs. All attempts to 

 obtain the eggs or larvae were fruitless.^' (Os Mosquitos no Para, 1905, p. 128.) 



The large size of these mosquitoes, and their rareness, leads us to surmise that 

 the larvae are predaceous, perhaps inhabiting bromeliads. All the large Culicidae, 

 as far as known, have predaceous larvae; the large size is without doubt due to 

 the richer larval nourishment and also is necessary to enable the larvae to cope 



* Sabethes goeldii, new species. Founded on Dr. Goeldi's figure (Os Mosquitos no Par.^, 1905, 

 pi. V, fig. 18) and a specimen from Trinidad (F. W. Urich). Type: Cat. No. 19640, IT. S. 

 Nat. Mas. 



Female: Proboscis sliort, gradually swollen to the tip ; palpi about one-third as long as 

 proboscis. Occiput, mesonotum, and abdomen above metallic green and blue. Legs with paddle- 

 shaped tufts on all three pairs, those on the middle legs the largest : fore legs with narrow 

 paddles Involving the tibia and first tarsal joint black, second to fourth tarsal joints white ; 

 middle legs with large paddles on the outer two-thirds of tibia and first tarsal joint, continued 

 narrowly on second and third joints, black, second to fourth joints white-scaled, tibiae white 

 above the ciliation ; hind legs very narrowly ciliate on outer half of tibiae, rather broadly so on 

 apical half of first tarsal joint, black, fourth and fifth joints white, extreme tip of latter black. 



The following table will separate the known species of Sabethes: 



1. Middle legs only with tufts 2 



Front legs also with small tufts, none on hind legs tarsopus Dyar & Knab 



Front and hind legs also with small tufts 5 



2. Tuft on mid tibia only, not on tarsus purpureus Peryassfi 



Tuft on mid tibia and tarsus 3 



3. No white on the legs 4 



Apical part of fringe on middle legs white bipartipes Dyar & Knab 



4. Basal cross-vein beyond the anterior cross-vein cyanens Fabricius 



Cross-veins coincident, or the anterior within albiprivus Theobald 



5. Tarsi marked with white 6 



Legs without white markings lutzii Theobald 



6. Fore tarsi white on second to fourth joints goeldii Howard. Dyar & Knab 



Fore tarsi black, with a white line on apical half of second joint schansi Dyar & Knab 



