336 LIFE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN INSECTS. 



by the niotlicr-mosquito. Tliey are sticky at first, 

 and so cling together, but in regular order; and as 

 they dry they form a solid mass of eggs — a little 

 raft which is beautifully balanced and floats on 

 the surface of the water. The lower ends of the 

 eggs are wider and thicker, and so the ''raft" is 

 heavier at the base. When water falls on it it just 

 tosses and rights itself quickly. From the lower 

 end of each egg a tiny larva (Plate 41, Fig 2), 

 called a ''wriggler" by children, emerges and 

 wriggles away — it looks like a very small piece of 

 wriggling thread, for the larva is elongate, with a 

 distinct head and thorax. The thorax is much wider 

 than the abdomen. There are three tufts of long hairs 

 on each side of the thorax, and a tuft on each side of 

 each of the abdominal segments. Attliocnd of the 

 abdomen arc two organs ; one is tlie breathing tube 

 (Plate 41, Figs. 2 a and 5) — a long cylindrical tube 

 with four flaps at the free end. These flaps close over 

 when the "wriggler" goes below the water. The 

 larva swims about with its head down and the tip 

 of the abdomen up. Thus the breathing tube is 

 brought on a level with the water, receives the air, 

 and then the curious "wriggler" lowers itself again. 

 We see that the mosquito larvae have no gills like 

 fishes or dragon-fly nymphs, but have to rise to 

 the surface of the^ water to get their air-supply. 

 The other organ at the end of tlie abdomen is the 

 excretionary tube, rather funnel-shaped, with tufts 

 of hair. 



The head of the larva is surrounded by tufts of 

 hairs and two appendages like arms, with hairs on 



