56 GNATS OR MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER III 



in such an eye the mosaic must be a very coarse one, and 

 that, except in the case of very near objects, the impression 

 gained of their form must be extremely fragmentary and 

 ill-defined. 



Hearing. — As regards the organ of hearing it happens 

 that in one member of the family, viz., in the larva of 

 Coretlira, an organ as to the auditory nature of which there 

 can be little doubt has been studied in some detail. In 

 this genus the larvae are so transparent that they are known 

 as glass larvae, and hence can be studied with exceptional 

 advantage, and the organ which is situated in the eighth 

 segment is described and figured by Professor Lubbock in 

 his popular work on the " Senses of Animals." In this form 

 the ganglion which is placed in the anterior part of the 

 segment gives off a branch, the auditory nerve, which after 

 a short course outward expands into a small auditory 

 ganglion from which a sheath containing two or three 

 auditory rods passes outwards and backwards to the skin. 



The auditory ganglion and end-organ are further sup- 

 ported and kept in a state of uniform tension by a ligament 

 which runs in an opposite direction from the ganglion to the 

 skin at the anterior part of the segment. 



The organs of smell and taste are probably situated in 

 the antennae and maxillary palpi and other parts of the 

 mouth respectively, but I am not aware of any work on 

 this subject bearing on the Culicidcc in particular. 



