264 GNATS OR MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER X 



amateur entomologist may be able to determine the position 

 of any species he may take. 



In the following systematic descriptions, to avoid the 

 continual repetition of such long phrases as "first longitu- 

 dinal vein," " supernumerary transverse vein," and so on, 

 the several long veins are simply indicated by the Roman 

 numerals from I. to VI. respectively ; while for the trans- 

 verse veins, the Arabic figures are employed, 1 meaning the 

 humeral transverse, 2 the supernumerary, 3 the middle, and 

 4 the posterior transverse veins. It is also convenient to 

 speak of the point at which a vein falls into the costa 

 simply as its "junction," so that the three lines of printing 

 occupied by the statement that the " auxiliary vein joins the 

 costa at a point opposite that at which the anterior branch 

 of the fifth longitudinal vein reaches the margin of the 

 wing," is simply stated thus : " aux. junct. opposite post. V. 

 junct." 



In the case of banded, jointed appendages such as the 

 palpi and legs, the statement that the bands are oti the 

 articulations will be taken to imply that the band of colour 

 involves both the apex of the joint above, and that of the 

 base below, in contradistinction to purely basal and apical 

 banding, where one piece only of the appendage is involved. 

 The use of certain other abbreviations, such as " ant." for 

 anterior, " post." for posterior, and so on, scarcely needs 

 detailed explanation, but their use greatly economises space 

 in the long run, and is almost indispensable in view of the 

 enormously increased volume of facts that must be con- 

 densed in the following pages. In addition to these, it is 

 sometimes convenient to use the mathematical signs = for 

 equal to, and || for parallel to, in a hne with, or opposite. 



The distinguishing characters of the two principal sub- 

 families, the Anophelina and Culicina, in their various 

 stages, are further illustrated in the accompanying plate, 

 reprinted from a short paper by the author, in the Journal 

 of the Nat. Hist. Society of Bombay. 



