242 MOSQUITOES OF NORTH AMERICA 



of the wings. Prothoracic lobes white-scaled. Central lobe of the scutellum white 

 scaled. Lateral lobes black. Pleura black, with several patches of white scales. 

 Metanotum deep brown. Halteres with pale yellow stems and knobs. Legs bluish- 

 black, clothed with black scales with bluish metallic reflections, all joints faintly 

 banded both apically and basally. Venter of femora and tibia? pale, with white scales. 

 Apical banding of the hind tibiae conspicuous; ungues equal and simple. Abdomen 

 black, speckled with grayish scales, base grayish, with black and white scales, two 

 black spots in the centre; second segment with broad basal creamy band expanding 

 in the mid line into a square area; third segment with a narrow crescentic basal 

 creamy area, the following segments unhanded; last two apical segments with faint 

 basal bands. All the abdominal segments bordered apically with long white hairs. 

 Wings densely scaled, veins with thick median and broad lateral scales, especially 

 on the third and fourth long veins. Scales not mottled. The first submarginal con- 

 siderably longer and narrower than the second posterior cell, stem only one-sixth 

 the length of the cell. Stem of the second posterior slightly larger than half the 

 cell; posterior cross vein rather more than its own length distant from the mid 

 cross vein. 



Length, 4-5 mm. 



f^. Scale ornamentation of the head and thorax closely resembling that of the 9. 

 Palpi exceeding the proboscis by the two terminal joints; terminal joints hairy and 

 somewhat swollen, bearing many long hairs in a row on each side; apex and base of 

 the terminal joint white-scaled, penultimate joint basally banded; on the venter, a 

 little below the apex, there is a white scaled area. Antepenultimate joint with two 

 bands of white scales, the distal broader one a short interval below the apex, at a 

 point corresponding to the band on the proboscis; the narrow basal band a short 

 distance above the base; a row of black hairs along the inner aspect; apical region 

 somewhat inflated. Abdomen, base white, with two central black spots; second 

 segment with broad basal band expanding laterally into wide areas, also centrally 

 into two divergent rounded areas. Third and following segments with basal bands 

 expanding at the sides; scales of all the lateral areas brighter than those in the 

 middle portion of the bands, which are creamy; two white spots in the center of the 

 third and succeeding segments. Appendages of the basal segment of clasp composed 

 of a leaf-like organ and a broad flattened hooked spine, also three simple straight 

 spines. Apical segment terminating in two blunt teeth. (Jngues of the fore and mid 

 legs uniserrated and unequal, of the hind equal and simple. 



Length, 4-5 mm. 



The following points were noted in the adult larva; Antennfe short, truncate. 

 nearly straight, smooth, entirely devoid of spines. Lateral tuft represented by one 

 short hair. A short lamella and several short spines at the apex. Labial plate 

 columnar, lateral teeth strongly curved, upper nearly straight. Air tube short, a 

 little longer than broad (at the base), subconical; row of pecten of eight curved and 

 spinous teeth, their serrations reduced to a row of fine elongated spicules. Eight 

 pairs of four-fid hairs are attached to the central region of the tube posteriorly, 

 forming a characteristic cluster. Scales of comb 15-20, each consisting of a thin 

 oval basal plate bordered with fine radiating hairs. Terminal portion of the ninth 

 segment completely encircled by a ring of chitin. Terminal tufts of hairs springing 

 from distinct plates; the upper tuft of only two pairs of hairs, the lov/er of seven 

 pairs, the latter feathered. Anal papillae very long narrow cylindrical, relatively 

 larger than those of any other Jamaican Culicid; papillae stiffened with fine spiral 

 chitinous threads. 



Pupa; Siphons short, apertures bordered internally by many fine branching hairs. 

 Terminal appendages broad, segments nearly equal; mid rib extending as a fine hair 

 a short distance from the free margin. 



Observations. A few living larvae of this species, with some of Ctilex secxitor. 

 Theob., were sent in September, 1905, by Major Hassard, after whom I have named 

 the species, collected by him from a tank at Newcastle. They were easily dis- 

 tinguished by their pale straw-coloured bodies and dark heads and siphons. The 

 singular group of hairs at the back of the siphon, and the very long anal papillae at 

 once attracted attention. In January, 190G, 1 found some specimens in a water barrel 

 at the Government Botanic Garden at Castleton, alt. 500 feet, living harmoniously 

 with Stegomyia fasciata. Fab. The adult insects bred from these bit vigorously. I 

 have placed this species provisionally in the genus Culex: the characters of the larval 

 siphons and antennae clearly point to its being an aberrant form. 



Original Description of Culex basilicus: 



$. Proboscis black with a broad, dull white ring; antennae and palpi black; head 

 with light golden yellow scales behind. Thorax black with brown-black scales cen- 

 trally; along the sides of disk a band of light yellow scales with a narrow square 



