Dec, 1904] Knab : Eggs of Culex Territans. 247 



and upon its steep side the mosquito was depositing its egg-cluster. 

 About half the eggs were already laid. The mosquito sat face upward, 

 the tips of her hind legs just touching the edge of the water. Her 

 legs were placed well apart in the ordinary resting attitude, her 

 abdomen turned abruptly downward. A very slight backward and 

 forward motion of the abdomen could be discerned as the eggs were 

 extruded in rather quick and regular succession. The last half of the 

 cluster was laid in about eighteen minutes — from 10.45 ^<^ ii-03 i^ 

 the forenoon. The manner in which the eggs are extruded and placed 

 against the preceding ones is remarkable. 



Although the abdomen is bent almost straight downward, the mouth 

 of the ovipositor is turned dorsally and upward so that the egg, which 

 appears with the tapering end foremost, is pushed upward along the 

 dorsal side of the abdomen until nearly the entire egg is exposed. A 

 slight backward motion of the abdomen then pushes the egg against 

 the cluster, the basal part of the egg being first brought in contact. 

 When oviposition was completed the mosquito walked slowly up the 

 side of the pan and was then captured. 



The completed egg-cluster contained 132 eggs laid in eight very 

 regular rows with the slightly curved eggs all turned in the same di- 

 rection. Only at one end of the cluster, that towards which the eggs 

 are curved, and its beginning, I judge, the regularity of the arrange- 

 ment is broken. The number of eggs in each row was as follows : 11, 

 16, 18, 19, 19, 19, 18, 12. The egg is cylindrical, about four times 

 as long as broad. The lower end is spherically rounded ; the upper 

 third tapers very gradually, is slightly curved and ends in a blunt 

 point. The color, by direct light, is brownish gray, darkening at the 

 tip. The surface of the egg appears smooth but under a high power 

 is seen to be very finely and rather closely granulate. Along the 

 sides are traces of the secretion by which the eggs were fastened to- 

 gether. The eggs adhere together quite firmly and it is only by some 

 little force that one of them can be detached. As a result of the slight 

 taper and curvature of the eggs towards the top the cluster is slightly 

 convex at the bottom. Before hatching the eyes of the larva show 

 through as two dark red spots about one fourth above the base of the 

 egg and the segments of the larva may be also faintly discerned. 

 The eggs when first laid are pure white, shining, and darken very 

 slowly. When examined three fourths of an hour later (11.50) they 

 were still white and an hour after this (12.50) they were just tinged 



