OETHOPODOMYIA FASCIPES 885 



half with long stout hairs along margin and two straight rows of cilia withia; 

 a tuft of hairs at tip continued along the suture; outer half with a small fila- 

 ment next the suture and a long subapical spine; palpus long and slender, 

 nearly as long as maxilla, with four slender digits. Thorax rounded, wider 

 than long; hairs abundant. Abdomen rather slender, the anterior segments 

 shorter; a dorsal chitinous plate on sixth segment; a very large one on the 

 seventh segment covering the dorsum and extending well down the sides; a 

 plate on eighth segment, excavated before air-tube and extending down the 

 sides before comb. Tube moderate, slightly tapered, more than three times as 

 long as wide ; no pecten, but a large tuft before middle. Lateral comb of eighth 

 segment a double row of long scales; single scale elliptical at base, fringed with 

 small spinules, tip expanded into a smooth elliptical appendix. Anal segment 

 about as long as wide, ringed by the plate ; dorsal tuft a long hair and brush 

 on each side ; a single lateral hair ; ventral brush well developed, dense, con- 

 fined to barred area ; anal gills long, the upper pair over twice as long as seg- 

 ment, the lower pair shorter, bluntly tapered. 



Adults of both sexes were taken by Mr. Knab at Eio Aranjuez near Punta- 

 renas, Costa Rica, September 13, 1905. His notes say : 



" Pathway to Las Loras. In a place where there were some very large trees 

 and the ground covered with herbage and low shrubbery. Upon low bushes 

 a couple of male Megarhinus were discovered and easily captured. A search 

 for breeding-places was without success. In this search some mosquitoes were 

 disturbed from their hiding-place, a crevice in the trunk of a large tree. They 

 alighted upon the bark close by and were easily captured. About ten feet up 

 was a hollow which had recently contained water. The females had greatly 

 distended abdomens." 



Mr. F. W. Urich captured specimens in Trinidad, British West Indies, and 

 afterward obtained the larvae in water in open bamboo-joints. He says : 



" The predominating colour of these larvas is red ; when young the pigment is 

 pale on the dorsal anterior half of each segment of thorax and abdomen and 

 gets lighter, until a white ring is formed at the joint with the next segment, 

 thus giving the larva a red and white ringed appearance. This coloration is 

 maintained right through all stages of the larva. At each change of skin the 

 red color gets more intense, until the mature larva has a rather dark appearance. 

 The pupa also has a reddish tint showing through the brown coloration. The 

 larvae live in bamboo joints, the water in which teems with infusoria, small 

 worms and other micro-organisms. It would appear as if this fauna is essential 

 to their well-being, for if isolated too young they die or do not mature well. 

 The larval period seems to take a long time." 



Mr. Jennings twice obtained the larvas in bamboo-traps. 



In every case our larvas were taken in open bamboo joints, but Mr. Knab 

 captured his adults where there was no bamboo in the vicinity, so it is probable 

 that the larvse also inhabit water in tree-holes. They feed upon small organisms 

 or organic matter contained in the water. The adults pass the dry season 

 hiding in crevices in the bark. They rest upon the trunks of trees, where their 

 mottled colors and spotted wings render them very inconspicuous. The eggs 

 have not been observed, nor the mating habits of the adults. None of our 

 correspondents report having been bitten by this species. It probably attacks 

 only at night and in the forest. 



Tropical America, in forested regions. 



Rio Aranjuez, Costa Rica, September 13, 1905 (F, Knab) ; Tabernilla, Canal 

 Zone, Panama, July 24, August 14, 1908 (A. H. Jennings) ; Omai, British 

 Guiana (K. S. Wise) ; St. Anns Valley, Trinidad, November 18, 1905 (F. W. 

 Urich). Reported also from Manaos, Brazil (Newstead & Thomas). 



