94 MOSQUITOES 



Anopheles, and the long palpi of the female at once 

 distiug-uish it from all species of Ciilcx. 



Resting- Position. — Owing to the publication of a field 

 sketch made at Sierra Leone by a member of the Ross ex- 

 pedition, the writer has been much interested in watch- 

 ing the resting positions of the adult insects. He finds 

 that when resting upon a horizontal surface — such as the 

 ceiling of a room or the covering of breeding-jars — the 

 insect clings with its four anterior legs in a nearly per- 

 pendicular position, its beak thrust forward toward the 

 surface to which it clings. The hind legs are frequentl}'^ 

 in motion, but as a rule hang downward with more or less 

 of a bend at the knee joint (femoro-tibial articulation). 

 When resting upon a perpendicular surface, however — 

 such as the side wall of a room or the side of a breeding- 

 jar — the body is held only at a comparatively slight angle 

 from the surface. Sometimes it is nearly parallel with 

 the surface. At other times it assumes an angle of 10° 

 to 20° (occasionally even as great an angle as 30° to 40°), 

 the proboscis being held nearly in line with the body. 

 Here again the insect supports itself by the four anterior 

 legs, the hind leg dangling down with more or less of a 

 bend at the knee. This position is common to both males 

 and females, and is illustrated in Fig. 13. When the 

 body is held parallel, it will generally be found that one 

 of the middle or hind legs has been broken off. They 

 are very delicate and readily break. 



The writer has taken the liberty of having Figure 14 

 engraved from a drawing sent him by Mr. C O. Water- 

 house of the British Museum. Mr. AWiterhouse made the 



