AEDES SERRATUS 795 



Wings with a dusky-yellowish tinge, testaceous at the base; veins clothed with 

 dark brown scales, and edged with long scales towards the apex of the wing, without 

 long scales towards the base; costal and first longitudinal veins covered with deep 

 purplish-black scales; posterior cross-vein scarcely its own length distant from the 

 mid cross-vein; fork-cells both rather short; the first sub-marginal cell very little 

 longer and narrower than the second posterior cell. Halteres pale ochraceous. 



Length. 5.5 to 6.5 mm. 



^. Antennae pale ochraceous, with narrow brownish bands at the verticils; piume- 

 hairs brown; proboscis black; palpi covered with dark brown scales, the last joint 

 pale brown, hairs brown; a little longer than proboscis. 



Thorax, &c., as in $. Abdomen narrow, covered with dark purplish-brown scales, 

 except at the base of the segments and laterally, where they are more or less nude 

 and testaceous in colour; there are also a few white scales on each side of the fifth, 

 sixth, and seventh segments, and several over the apical segments; posterior borders 

 with golden hairs, ventrally pale; ($ claspers brown; fore and mid ungues unequal, 

 larger one with two, smaller with one tooth; hind ungues equal, each with a small 

 thick tooth and basal swelling. 



Length. 6.5 mm. 



HaUtat. Rio de Janeiro (Senhor Carlos Moreira) (9. 12. 1899); Lower Amazon 

 (Austen) (25.11.96); New Amsterdam (Rowland) (61); Trinidad (Urich). 



Time of capture. November, in Brazil (November 5), February, in British 

 Guiana. 



Observations. A very distinct species, dull coloured in certain lights, with a 

 broad band of light scales in the middle of the thorax and clear silvery-white spots 

 at the sides, and similarly coloured beneath. Found at New Amsterdam on freshly- 

 drained land and in houses (Rowland). 



One 5 from Rio de Janeiro differs from the rest in having the posterior cross-vein 

 distant about its own length from the mid cross-vein. What remained of the legs 

 also seemed paler, especially the femora, which had many white scales, except at the 

 apex. The thorax had whitish scales in front, the back part being denuded, and the 

 abdomen had a broad pale central mass of scales. It was taken by Senhor Moreira in 

 November with the rest, and is probably only a colour variety. 



Original Description of Aedes mebidionalis : 



Antennae with the tuft before the middle; head hairs single; lateral hairs single 

 after the second abdominal segment. Air tube 2X1, pecten short, reaching over 

 one-half, followed by a large hair tuft ; comb of twelve scales in a straight row. Anal 

 segment broadly ringed. 



Taken by the junior author in the forest beyond settlement. Las Loras, near 

 Puntarenas, Costa Rica, in a pond choked by vegetation which is dry in the dry 

 season. The specimen was named " Janthinosoma musica Say " by Mr. Coquillett. 



The following is an abstract of the table: 



1. Air tube with the tuft beyond the pecten 8 



8. Pecten of the air tube with evenly spaced teeth 13 



13. Comb scales few, in a single or irregularly single row 14 



14. Anal segment ringed by the plate 15 



15. Anal processes moderate, normal 16 



16. Comb of 12 scales; pecten reaching half of tube meridionalis 



Description of Female, Male, and Larva of Aedes serratus : 



Female. Proboscis rather short, subcylindrical, unifonn; labellae conically 

 tapered; vestiture dull bluish-black; setae minute, curved, black, those on the 

 labellse more outstanding. Palpi short, about one-fourth as long as the pro- 

 boscis ; vestiture black, setae moderate. Antennae filiform, the joints subequal, 

 rugose, pilose, brown ; second joint slightly thickened, fusiform, pale at base ; 

 tori subspherical, with a cup-shaped apical excavation, yellowish shading to 

 brown within, with a patch of fine setas : hairs of whorls sparse, moderate, brown. 

 Clypeus rounded triangular, convex, with a median groove, dark brown, nude. 

 Eyes purplish black. Occiput blackish, clothed broadly with narrow, curved 

 scales on the vertex, broad flat ones on the sides, silvery yellowish-white in a 

 broad median stripe and along margins of eyes, black on each side, white below ; 

 many erect black forked scales on the nape ; bristles along margin of eyes dark 

 brown, those projecting between eyes yellowash-Avhite. 



