182 



den wiederholt sich sehr viele Tage hindurch gegen Sonnenuntergang das Schauspiel 

 unzahliger Schaaren von. A. claviger, welche die sich an den Thuren unterhaltenden 

 oder Abenbrod essenden Menschen angreifen. Im Freien konnen die Anopheles 



clauiger, nachdem sie gestoehen haben, aid' die in der Nahe stehenden Baume flie- 

 gen nnd sich dort verstecken. Die Miicken ruhen sich haufig auch auf den 



ausseren Hauswanden ans und bleiben doit mehrere Stunden sitzen, am nachsten 

 Morgen aber sind sie nicht mehr verhanden. . . Wir sehen sie die Beute in von 

 weniger oder mehr entfernten Orten her kommenden Schaaren anfallen. Im Allge- 

 meinen steht lest dasz sie durch jene Fenster und jene Thuren in die Hiiuser ein 

 fliege die nach der Richtung des Wassers liegen u. s. w." Sambon (1901 p. 195) says 

 as follows: "During summer the A. maculipennis do not seem to remain long in the 

 houses and stables. Their number varies greatly from day to day in the same room. 

 Fresh specimens arrive every evening, gorge themselves on the blood . . . hide for 

 some hours in the darkest corner they can find and go out again in the morning 

 or the next evening'". — 



At Maccarese Grassi says that in July at 21 t. .'}() he has hardly been able 

 to defend himself against A. maculipennis; this was the case whether he was in the 

 house or out of doors. Also Leger (1913 p. 41) records that he has caught .4. ma- 

 culipennis in many hundreds in the houses and on the railway stations in Corse. 

 With regard to tropical Anophelines Donitz (1902 p. 20) says: "dasz die Tiere sich 

 sogar, nachdem sie sich mil Blut gesattigl haben, die Hauser welche ihnen nicht 

 zusagen verlassen um sich in Freien zu verbergen. Already in Poland Martini 

 (1920 p. 61) indicates that at sunset A. maculipennis was living as well in through 

 the windows as out of them. With these statements in mind the above-named diffe- 

 rences between Prkll's and my views with regard lo .4. m. as a domesticated mos- 

 quito are intelligible. 



From these indications we now learn that A. maculipennis at all events round the 

 Mediterranean lives a life quite as we should expect the mosquito to live 

 if it were lo be able to transfer malaria to man. At any rate it is here lo 

 a rather high degree even nowadays an outdoor species which is on the wing to 

 find its prey over rather considerable distances, and lo a very high degree it sucks 

 blood upon man. 



II is thus actually proved that there is the. greatest difference in the manner 

 of life of .4. maculipennis in South Europe and at the northern limits of its area 

 of distribution. In my opinion it is neither quininisation of mankind alone, nor 

 water drainage of the field, nor lowering of tp., but just this alteration in the 

 biology of the species, the very peculiar transition from an outdoor 

 species sucking upon man to a stable insect sucking upon our farm 

 animals which has been the main ca u se of the disappearance of malaria 

 from its northern limits. 



The question now arises: what has caused this transition? I do not dare 

 to solve it for the many foreign countries but I think I am able to do so for my 



