June, 1906.J KNAB : GOELDI'S " Os MOSQUITOS NO PARA." 67 



into their cages. The sounds produced under these conditions were 

 determined with the assistance of two musically educated colleagues 

 and by the use of a cither and diapason with determined vibrations. 

 The note of the female corresponded to C in the treble clef and 

 that of the male to the A above. The male note has 880 vibrations, 

 that of the female 480, and the two sounds hold the relation of a sex- 

 tad to each other. In both cases the impression was obtained that 

 along with the principal note the respective octaves were heard, so 

 that the timbre was obscured by the concomitant notes. A certain 

 effect upon the height of pitch is exercised by the greater or less dilation 

 of the abdomen with food and perhaps also in certain psychic states and 

 under the influence of mutual suggestion. According to Nuttall and 

 Shipley the note of Anopheles maculipennis in the male coincides with 

 that of Stegomyia while in the fed female it is in the neighborhood of 

 low C with 240 vibrations, an octave lower than in Stegomyia. 



Little appears to have been made known about the copulation of 

 Stegomyia. The author states that he has seen it millions of times 

 and sees it every day, but, as yet, has not been able to describe it 

 satisfactorily in its minor details. In general outline the process is 

 as follows: a male, from his outlook, precipitates himself upon a 

 female that comes flying near and attaching himself to the under side 

 allows himself to be carried in gentle flight for a few seconds (not 

 more than two or three) and again departs. It is the work of a 

 moment and it is really surprising with what rapidity the act is ac- , 

 complished. The flight is so short that it is executed without diffi- 

 culty within a cage, a fact which makes it possible to breed successive 

 generations of the species in captivity. As well as one can judge, 

 without previously marked individuals, the same male copulates 

 several times in rapid succession with diverse females that approach. 

 The process differs from the bacchanals of Culex fatigans, described 

 on a previous page, in that there are not two distinct swarms, one of 

 males, the other of females. Still there is a tendency to keep sep- 

 arate, a kind of antagonism already alluded to. The nuptial flight of 

 Culex fatigans is likewise only of a moment but it seems to require 

 more space and therefore is not realized in captivity with the facility, 

 one might almost say mathematical precision, of Stegomyia. 



The writer thinks that Culex fatigans is more obstinate, timid and 

 rebellious in behavior and more refractory to domestication. He 

 believes that a proof of this is the singular circumstance that of all 



