CULEX DAUMASTOCAMPA 435 



Culex imitator was first described by Tbeobald in tlie genus Culex, but later 

 he redescribed it as a new genus and species. Both the names are used by 

 Peryassu, who simply translated Theobald's descriptions, without observing the 

 synonymy. We do not consider the species as deserving of generic rank, yet it 

 is typical of the peculiar bromelia-feeding forms of Culex with very long air- 

 tubes in the larva. These probably all deposit their eggs in a mass of jelly, a.s 

 at least one of them (Culex jenningsi) does; they undoubtedly represent a dis- 

 tinct group, but this intergrades with the more typical Culex, so that Theobald's 

 name Microculex can not be safely employed. 



The adults show great variation in the scale ornamentation, as indicated by 

 the following table of varieties. In the specimens in which the mesonotal 

 silvery ornamentation is obsolete, the tarsal white bands are much narrowed, 

 half or more of the last hind tarsal being black. In males with reduced mark- 

 ings, the palpi are entirely black, and the dorsum of the abdomen shows only 

 white lateral spots. 



The larvae of Culex imitator are subject to a peculiar modification in the shape 

 of the breathing-tube, which is varietal only, but for which a separate name has 

 been proposed. We have thought it desirable to employ the name daumasturus 

 for the form of the larva with a swelling on the tube. This swelling varies in 

 size, form and position in different individuals and may be absent altogether in 

 specimens of the same brood. 



Table of Varieties. 



ADULTS. 



Thorax adorned with silvery markings imitator Theobald 



Thorax without silvery markings vector Dyar & Knab 



LARV.^3. 



Air tube long, straight, uniform imitator Theobald 



Air tube with a central fusiform enlargement. . daumasturus Dyar & Knab 



Goeldi figures the larva and pupa of this species under the name Culex con- 

 firmatus, under a misidentification of Arribalzaga's species; the figures given 

 by this author of the eggs (Os Mosquitos no Para, 1905, pi. C, figs. 29-31) 

 and the female imago (pi. iv, fig. 17) really represent Aedes scapularis. 



CULEX DAUMASTOCAMPA Dyar & Knab. 



Culex daumastocampa Dyar & Knab, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xxxv, 58, 1908. 

 Culex daumastocampa Theobald, Mon. Culic, v, 615, 1910. 



Original Description of Culex daumastocampa: 



Female. Proboscis long and slender, swollen at the apex; palpi black-scaled; 

 occiput golden-scaled, with black scales sparsely intermixed, a large dark spot on 

 each side; thorax deep brown scaled, the front and lateral margins on the anterior 

 half very broadly bright golden-scaled; scutellum dark-scaled; abdomen dark-scaled 

 above, with bronzy luster, slightly lighter colored beneath, but without distinct band- 

 ing; scales along the wing veins long and narrow, darkly colored; legs dark-scaled, 

 with bronzy luster; hind legs with the under surface of the femora silvery white- 

 scaled, the apices of the tibiae and a rather broad ring at the base of the first tarsal 

 joint silvery white-scaled; second and third tarsal joints very narrowly silver-white- 

 ringed at the bases, the rings obsolete on the fourth and fifth joints; front and middle 

 legs without rings; tarsal claws simple. Length, 2 mm. 



Male. Palpi long and slender, nearly as long as the proboscis, black-scaled, with- 

 out annulations; head and thoracic markings as in the female; abdomen dark-scaled 

 above, with strong coppery luster; beneath the scaling is more brassy, but there are 

 no segmental bands; knees of the hind legs silvery scaled; tibial and tarsal markings 

 as in the female. Length 2 mm. 



Three specimens, Porto Bello, Fort San Felipe, Panama, bred from larvae in water 

 between the leaves of bromeliaceous plants. (A. H. Jennings.) 



Type Cat. No. 11967, U. S. N. M. 



