Carpenter et al.: Mosquitoes of Southern U. S. Ill 



tapered and slightly curved beyond middle, bearing numerous small papil- 

 lated hairs; terminal claw (Ds-C) short, stout, bifurcate. 



LARVA. (Fig. 56). — Head broader than long. Antenna less than half as 

 long as head, sparsely spined. Antennal tuft multiple, inserted near middle of 

 shaft, reaching near tip. Head hairs: Preantennal (A) multiple, barbed, reach- 

 ing insertion of antennal tuft; lower (B) multiple, barbed, extending slightly 

 beyond anterior margin of head; upper (C) multiple, barbed, about as long as 

 B; postclypeal (d) small, multiple, barbed; sutural (e) double; trans-sutural 

 (f) usually 3 to 4-branched; supraorbital single or double. Upper lateral 

 abdominal hairs multiple on segments I and II, double on III to VI; sub- 

 dorsal hairs prominent on segments III to VII. Comb of eighth segment of 

 numerous scales in a patch; individual scale rounded apically and fringed with 

 subequal spinules. Siphon about three and one-half times as long as basal 

 width; pecten of about 12 to 14 evenly spaced teeth on basal fifth of siphon, 

 closely followed by an even row of numerous long hairs extending to apical 

 fourth of siphon; subventral tuft large, multiple, barbed, inserted within pecten 

 near the base of siphon. Anal segment slightly longer than wide, completely 

 ringed by the dorsal plate; lateral hair long, double or triple; dorsal brush 

 bilaterally consisting of a lower caudal tuft of 3 or 4 unequal branches and a 

 shorter multiple upper caudal tuft; ventral brush well-developed and with one 

 or two small tufts preceding the barred area; gills 4, as long or longer than 

 the segment, bluntly pointed. 



DISTRIBUTION. — Widely distributed in the United States and southern 

 Canada. Southern States: Alabama, Arkansas and Florida (52); Georgia 

 (97); Kentucky (140); Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and 

 South Carolina (52); Tennessee (97); Virginia (49, 50). Other States: Ari- 

 zona, California and Colorado (52); Delaware (106); District of Columbia, 

 Idaho and Illinois (52); Indiana (39, 76); Iowa (155, 156); Kansas (52); 

 Maryland (19); Massachusetts (52, 180); Michigan (88); Minnesota (131); 

 Montana (112); Nebraska (178); Nevada (52); New Jersey (77); New 

 Mexico (9); New York (52); North Dakota (127); Oklahoma (159); Ore- 

 gon and South Dakota (52); Texas (52, 108); Utah (142); Wisconsin (48); 

 Wyoming (129). 



BIONOMICS. — The adults are frequently taken in large numbers in both 

 light trap and resting station collections in the southern states during the 

 winter. They are often taken in light traps during cold weather when no other 

 night-flying insects are captured. The females are not troublesome biters in this 

 region, but some observers have reported that they frequently bite man in other 

 localities. Larvae occur in pools, ditches, and ocasionally in artificial containers. 

 Larval records extend from October to April in the South. 



medical IMPORTANCE. — CuUseta inornata has been found naturally in- 

 fected with the virus of western equine encephalitis (75) and is a proven 

 laboratory vector (74). 



