146 GNATS OR MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER VII 



punctured the skin, but there was Httle or no irritation 

 afterwards and no swelling. Of course, others might have 

 been affected differently. The males never attempted to 

 suck my blood, but they fed freely, as did the females also, 

 on a slice of apple, fig, mango, or any juicy fruit. In default 

 of fruit I gave them jam, or even sugar and water. After 

 a meal of blood they seemed to feel heavy and indisposed 

 for active exercise, but were quite ready again in twenty- 

 four hours. It has been stated that Anopheles is mute. 

 This is certainly a mistake. It has a very shrill pipe." 



The brindled Mosquitoes above alluded to are Stegoniyice, 

 but, in addition to these, TtrniurJiynchtis ager, Mihi, 

 Mucidus scataphagoides, Mihi, and a number of Ciilices, 

 such as C. concolor, 11. Desv., which are entirely absent to 

 all appearance at other times of the year, may be found in 

 greater or less numbers. In October, I took at Shahjahan- 

 pur, a solitary specimen of C. mimeticus, Noe, but I suspect 

 that this is rarely found during the rains in the plains, as 

 it was not included in any of the collections sent me for 

 identification from this part of India. I also took at this 

 period, the single specimen from which Corethra Asiatica, 

 fiji. n. is described, but this species is so small and incon- 

 spicuous that it is easily overlooked, and it is probable that 

 tlie example I captured was a late specimen of a species 

 that may be common enough during the rainy season. With 

 the drying up of the rains, these species, peculiar to that 

 season of the year, cease to be seen, and retire into a 

 seclusion that cannot fall far short of seven or eight 

 months; but the Anopheletes linger longer, and may be 

 found, though in rapidly diujinishing numbers, till late in 

 November. Towards the end of the period An. sinensis, 

 previously the less common, is far more often met with than 

 An. Bossii, but the very last specimen I was able to find 

 during the year was one of the latter species (on November 

 '2'2nd). In a note dated two days previously, I find that 

 a male sinensis was so sluggish ni the early morning 

 (temperature 56' F.) that he refused to fly, though he 

 revived somewhat during the day, when taken into the 

 sunny verandah to pose for his photograph. After this. 



