MOSQUITOES IN GENERAL 15 



the female affects one auteuna more than the other, the 

 male turns his head until both antenu* are affected, and 

 is thus able to determine the exact direction of the female, 

 to Avliich he then Hies. Mayer found that the male can 

 thus g-uide himself to within five degrees of the exact 

 direction of the female. His conclusion is that " these 

 insects must have the faculty of the perception of the 

 direction of sound more highly developed than in any 

 other class of animals." Mayer carried his experiments 

 farther, and made large wooden models of the hairs, with 

 which he conducted interesting- experiments. His paper 

 is published in full in the American Journal of Science 

 and Arts, vol. viii. (1874), pag-es 89-103, and should be 

 read by those interested in this subject. 



Recently, Mr. A. DeP. Weaver, an electrical engineer 

 of Jackson, Miss., wrote me that while engaged in some 

 experiments in harmonic telegraphy, in which a musical 

 note of a certain pitch was produced by electrical means, 

 he was amazed to find that when the note was raised to a 

 certain number of vibrations per second, all mosquitoes, 

 not only in the room where the apparatus was, but also 

 from other parts and from outside, would congregate 

 near the apparatus and would be precipitated from the 

 air with astonishing force, striking- their bodies ag-ainst 

 the apparatus. He states that he therefore covered a 

 large surface with sticky fiy-paper and after sounding the 

 note for a few seconds captured all the mosquitoes in the 

 vicinity. He then devised an apparatus to electrocute 

 them. A section of wire window screen with the paint 

 removed was mounted on a board and small pins were 



