374 MOSQUITOES OF NORTH AMERICA 



Original Description of Culex salinarius : 



In the autumn of 1902 specimens of a small Culex were received from Prof. J. B. 

 Smith, with the statement that they were bred from larvae living in the salt marshes 

 of New Jersey; they agreed so well with the published descriptions of Culex nigrituliis 

 Zetterstedt that they were referred to that species. The recent appearance of the 

 third volume of Theobald's Monograph of the Culicidse, however, has thrown a grave 

 doubt upon the correctness of this reference, since the figure which he gives of the 

 male clasper on page 201 is very different from the same organ in our species. In 

 the second volume of the Monograph, upon which the identification of our species was 

 chiefly based, no mention was made of the male claspers, but in the remarks on this 

 species near the bottom of page 141 occurs this statement: " I can detect no differ- 

 ence in the (^ ungues or any important structural detail from C. pipiens," thus imply- 

 ing that the claspers are like those of the latter species, figured on page 134. 



Prof. Smith assures me that repeated searching by himself and his assistants has 

 failed to discover larvae of our species in fresh water, it being essentially a salt- 

 water species. Mr. Theobald tells us that the specimens of nigritulus treated of in 

 the second volume of his Monograph were collected by himself " in great numbers 

 in and over half-filled water-butts " presumably of fresh water. The specimens 

 upon which Zetterstedt founded his original description were from Quickjock, in the 

 northwestern part of Sweden, within the Arctic Circle and over one hundred miles 

 from salt water. 



Thus all the facts indicate that nigritulus is a fresh-water species distinct from 

 our salt-water form; the latter will, therefore, require a new name, for which Culex 

 salinarius is proposed. The male is so similar to pipiens that, as yet, I am unable to 

 point out any distinguishing characters; the first joint of the claspers bears beyond 

 the middle of the inner side an irregular row of about five chiefiy flattened spines, 

 while near the outer end of this row is an elongate-oval lamella. The female is also 

 remarkably like pipiens, but the cross-bands of yellowish scales on the abdomen are 

 narrower, being scarcely apparent on the anterior segments. 



The larva has been well figured by Dr. H. G. Dyar (Jour. N. Y. Ent. Soc, XI, 

 Plate II, Figure 3) ; strangely enough, it has not a rounded head and robust sub- 

 anal tube, as in pipiens, but a subquadrate head and long, slender subanal tube, as in 

 territans, from which it can scarcely be distinguished except that the spinous proc- 

 esses on the subanal tube have three or four branches, while in territans they usually 

 have a single branch. 



Description of Female, Male, and Larva of Culex salinarius : 



Female. Proboscis rather slender, uniform, labellse conically tapered ; vesti- 

 ture black with a pale sheen on under side ; setae minute, curved, black, those on 

 labeilge more prominently outstanding. Palpi short, nearly one-fifth the length 

 of proboscis, uniform, clothed with blackish scales, setae at base long and out- 

 standing. Antennae moderate, joints subequal, rugose, pilose, blackish, second 

 joint scarcely enlarged ; tori subspherical, with a cup-shaped apical excavation, 

 yellowish shading to dark brown on inner side. Clypeus rounded triangular, 

 convex, brownish black, nude, slightly pruinose. Eyes black. Occiput brown, 

 clothed with narrow, curved golden-brown scales on the vertex, wath small, flat 

 Avhite ones on lower part of sides and margin of eyes ; numerous erect, forked 

 black scales in a dense mass at sides, appearing like a large black subdorsal spot, 

 fewer on rest of surface. 



Prothoracic lobes elliptical, remote dorsally, luteous, clothed with a few nar- 

 row pale scales and brown bristles. Mesonotum brown, with two narrow dorsal 

 bare lines, clothed with rather sparse, minute hair-like coppery brown scales and 

 numerous long brown bristles. Scutellum trilobate, luteous, clothed with hair- 

 like golden scales, each lobe with a group of black bristles. Postnotum elliptical, 

 luteous, nude. Pleurae and coxae pale luteous, clothed with patches of flat white 

 scales and rows of brown bristles. 



Abdomen subcylindrical, depressed, truncate at tip, clothed with blackish 

 scales dorsally, which have a slight bluish reflection, each segment except the 

 first with a very narrow basal transverse band of dull yellowish-white scales, the 

 proximal ones obsolete or entirely absent ; a row of diffused lateral white spots ; 

 last segment dark scaled dorsally; venter clothed with yellowish-white scales, 



