180 



almost impossible to get the Anophelines to suck blood upon man. Celli and 

 Gasperini (1902 p. 141) indicate only 35 p. 100, and the same authors maintain 

 that in Toscana the Anophelines prefer cattle to man. The very same results 

 were also arrived at by Roubaud who maintained that A. bifurcates attacked in 

 the open air, but this is not the case with regard to A. maculipennis. Giles says 

 that in England it is only in hot weather that mosquitoes show any strong ten- 

 dency to attack human beings. Tanzer and Osterwald (1919 p. 689) have shown 

 that A. maculipennis have abandoned the rooms and retreated to the stables; they 

 suppose because the rooms nowadays are cleaner than formerly. James (1919 p. 37) 

 maintains that houses as a condition for visitation by Anophelines must have a 

 large amount of domesticated animals. Doflein (1918 2 p. 1214) shows that A. ma- 

 culipennis is constantly to be found in stables. Muhlens according to Martini (1920 t 

 p. 00) has as stated above ascertained by means of the Uhlenhut proof, that the 

 blood in the Anophelines of the stables really derives from swine and horses. 



Prell (1917 p. 242) has also arrived at quite similar results; his paper being 

 one of the most instructive with regard to the biology of our two most significant 

 A/io/j/ie/fs-species. According to him .4. maculipennis is mainly to be found in stables, 

 not so much in outhouses, mostly in the cow-houses, not so much in hog-pens; in the 

 horse-stables they are most common in the clean well ventilated stables; just like 

 myself, Prell has seen that swallows in stables diminish the number of mosquitoes. 

 They occur mainly on the ceiling, often in enormous numbers. He says: "In Abstanden 

 von knapp 1 cm, von einander sind sie dann manchmal unter moglichster Ausnut- 

 zung der Flache so dicht und gleiehmassig verteilt. dasz sie geradzu in Reihen auf- 

 marschiert erscheinen und wie ein Schleier die Decke fiberziehen". He has further 

 observed that the Anophelines hang down perpendicularly from the ceiling and use the 

 hind-legs as organs of feeling; also that almost all specimens are blood-filled and that 

 they are extremely sluggish: "Der vollgesogene Anopheles legt eine ausserordentliche 

 Flugunlust an den Tag. Jagt man ihn auf, so fliegt er oft nur einige Cm., selten 

 fiber einen Meter weit fort". In the stables the mosquitoes ripen their eggs; he has 

 correctly seen that among the many red individuals also others are found which 

 have an almost white abdomen, owing to the ripening eggs. — Curiously enough 

 the main result of my own observations that .4. maculipennis nowadays really may 

 be regarded as a domesticated mosquito is not in accordance with Prell's view: 

 He says: "Anopheles ist eben kcineswegs ein "Haustier" sondern eine "Wildart", die 

 nur zum Hlutsaugen in Stalle kommt und beinahe mochte man sagen widerwillig 

 dort langere Zeit zurfickbleibt". I regard it as highly probable that this supposition 

 may really be correct for Wurttemberg where Prell has made his investigations; 

 for my country, nearer the northern limits of the distribution area of the species, 

 it is not so, however (see later). 



Among the many other observers from recent years w r ho have arrived at the 

 same results as myself, I especially refer to the following: Mandoul (1919 p. 779); 

 Peju and Cordier (1918 p. 1039). Peju (1919 p. 1267). Macdonald (1919 p. 669). 



