REARING MOSQUITOES 181 



small pins used for Microlepidoptera upon narrow strips of cork. The method 

 of pinning on pins run through card-board disks, in use among British col- 

 lectors, we find objectionable, as the disk interferes with the proper examination 

 of the specimen, and it is impossible to remove the insect from the mount with- 

 out relaxing and remounting it. Furthermore, the specimens very often get 

 broken by the disks becoming loose upon the pin. Labels, giving the exact 

 locality and date of capture and the name of the collector, should be pinned upon 

 the larger pin of every mount. 



SENDING BY MAIL OR EXPRESS. 



Specimens which are to be sent to a distance, should be placed while still soft 

 in pill boxes between two layers of cotton, packed loosely and not again opened 

 until they reach their destination. Tin boxes and glass vials should be avoided, 

 as the retained moisture causes the specimens to mould. Collections made in 

 moist climates must be well disinfected with creosote or some similar substance. 

 The pill boxes to be sent by mail, should be securely packed in a stout outer 

 wooden box that will not be crushed in transit. Considerable risk always attends 

 sending pinned specimens by mail or express. This can be minimized by proper 

 packing. The pins should be firmly set in a cork-bottomed box over which a thin 

 layer of loose cotton has first been spread. This box should then be packed in a 

 stout outer box, at least four inches larger than the inner box in all dimensions, 

 the space between loosely packed with excelsior or other elastic packing material. 



REARING. 



Captured adult mosquitoes, even when most carefully collected, are liable to 

 be more or less damaged, often unrecognizable, since the insects lose their scales 

 easily even when living in a state of nature. It is therefore desirable to breed 

 specimens from the larvae as far as possible. It is still important to collect the 

 adults, as many species may be thus taken which would be overlooked if only bred 

 specimens were retained. Some species are not infrequent as adults, the larvie 

 of which are very difficult to obtain, if they are not entirely unknown. The 

 larvae of mosquitoes are of great importance in specific determination. Many 

 species of Cidex are of uncertain determination without the associated larvae, 

 while some Aedes have identical adults, yet dissimilar larvae. The characters 

 of the larvffi reside in the modifications of the chitinous appendages of the skin 

 and the arrangement of the hairs. As these are fully retained by the cast skins, 

 it is possible to preserve both the larva and the adult of the same identical speci- 

 men, thus assuring absolutely correct associations. This should be done wher- 

 ever possible. To secure it, the mosquito larvae to be reared should be isolated in 

 separate tubes. We find flat-bottomed glass tubes about one inch in diameter to 

 be suitable. They should be loosely stoppered with cotton. Having obtained a 

 culture of mosquito larvae, the collector pours the liquid and contained larvae 

 into a shallow dish, one of white material preferred, and with a pipette or spoon 

 places one larva in each tube. Care should be exercised to introduce no pre- 

 daceous enemy with the larva. The tube is then filled two-thirds full with the 



