144 GNATS OR MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER VII 



he will find it difficult to find them away from the neigh- 

 bom'hood of habitations. 



These larvae may almost be said to be in a sort of resting 

 condition, or in other words, they are not growing, and, as 

 a rule, no pupa^ will be found, though the occurrence of a 

 day or two of warmer weather, will lead to their appearance, 

 especially in the case of the Culices. Towards the middle 

 of February, these two hardy species commence to renew 

 breeding operations in a leisurable way, but as far as I can 

 make out, it is only C. fatigans that dares to brave the fierce 

 heat of the dry season, C. impellens retiring into obscurity 

 in March, until the advent of the rain makes climatic con- 

 ditions more tolerable, alike for Mosquitoes and men. At 

 the end of March, C. fatigans was absolutely the only 

 species I could find, but it made up for the want of its 

 kindred by its enormous numbers, as the small, constantly 

 replenished tanks in the gardens, which afforded the only 

 possible nurseries for Mosquitoes of any sort, were well-nigh 

 solid with their larvae and pupae, and they so swarmed in 

 the bungalows, as to make the evening and night intoler- 

 able. In the open, or anywhere away from houses, it is 

 needless to remark that no Mosquitoes of any kind were 

 to be found, and they continued to be the only species 

 present in at all noticeable numbers, until the break of the 

 rains, in the end of June, or beginning of July. 



In the middle of April, however, the Anopheles larvae 

 that have tided through the winter, pupate, and give birth 

 to a spring brood of adults, but as the climatic conditions 

 are unfavourable at this time to its breeding operations, 

 on account, I fancy, of the available collections of water 

 being too hot for the taste of the larvae ; which will swarm 

 in the very same situations a couple of months later, and 

 hence no fresh broods appear, and the imagines that made 

 a short appearance on the scene hide themselves for the 

 rest of the dry season : as none of my correspondents 

 make any mention of having met with them in our 

 part of the country at this time of the year. With the 

 advent of the rains, however, a renewed period of activity 

 commences. Anopheles larvae make their appearance in 



