16 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Voi. xv. 



flight, and lasted only a very short time. Convinced of the impossi- 

 bility of closely studying them in a stationary position he gave up 

 further observation. 



However, upon May 13, a lucky chance permitted him to observe 

 what for more than two months had been the object of his research. 

 Seeing a pair of mosquitoes united and hovering in a sun-beam he 

 gently approached them to obtain a better look. Escaping him they 

 flew to the rear of the cabin where, after an irregular flight, they 

 entered the canopy of the bed and alighting remained suspended from 

 the under side of the canopy-top. Here the light yellow color of the 

 cloth contrasted well with the dark bodies of the mosquitoes and this 

 proved to be the long desired opportunity. Waiting until they had 

 become well settled he approached cautiously. The female, recognized 

 by the length and stoutness of her body, sat in the ordinary position 

 of mosquitoes ; she clung to the fabric with her front, and middle legs, 

 the two hind legs elevated in a half-circle above her wings. The male, 

 on the contrary, had assumed a different attitude. The smaller size 

 of his body and the necessity of obtaining union with the female, who 

 did not seem inclined to incommode herself, left him apparently less 

 at ease. His two greatly elongated front legs alone held him to the 

 top of the canopy while with the other four legs he grasped the female. 

 In spite of their movements, the commander was able to study them 

 well and settle all doubts. An involuntary move on his part, caused 

 by the rolling of the vessel, startled the pair from its resting-place. 

 Still united they tried to obtain a new hold, but without success, and 

 finally flew off and were lost to view, having probably separated. 



From his observations Godeheu de Riville concluded that copula- 

 tion in mosquitoes does not last long, takes place very quickly in com- 

 parison with other flies, and appears to occur only in the air. He 

 considers that the attitude assumed does not permit them to alight, 

 and that the one couple thus observed was a rare exception. None ot 

 the many other couples which he attempted to observe more closely 

 came to a resting position. 



Thus runs the account of Godeheu de Riville. It may be added 

 that this old record furnished the foundation for the statement made 

 by several writers that with the mosquitoes the position in copulation 

 is face to face. From this single observation, like that of the egg-lay- 

 ing habit of Culex pipiens by Reaumur, it has been wrongly inferred 

 that such were the habits of the Culicidae in general. More recent 



