INTRODUCTION 



BY 



L. O. HOWARD, Ph. D., 



Chief Entomologist, U. 8. Department of Agriculture. 



Down to the time when the Geographical Society of Baltimore sent out its 

 Expedition to the Bahamas not a single species of mosquito was known from 

 these Islands, and in fact none have since been recorded; so that the informa- 

 tion contained in the following paper by Mr, Coffin is entirely new and might 

 well be expected to afford some facts of interest. In examining his material and 

 in reading the report of his observations, I am at once struck by the fact of 

 the absence of mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles or any of the mosquitoes of 

 the tribe Anophelini. While this by no means indicates that species of this 

 group do not occur upon the Islands, it is significant and would seem to 

 indicate that, from the standpoint of diseases of malarial origin, the Bahamas 

 must rank as a health resort. With regard to the yellow fever mosquito, 

 Stegomyia fasciata (Fabr.), the case is quite different. This species seems to 

 be found in most localities in which Mr. Coffin collected, and therefore quar- 

 antine measures against yellow fever on the part of the Islands should be rigor- 

 ous, and carefully screened detention hospital facilities should be provided for 

 incomers to the Islands from vessels having the fever aboard. 



From the point of view of geographic distribution of species, mosquitoes 

 have a smaller faunistic value than certain other groups of insects. Many 

 forms have become widespread through commerce. On large continental 

 areas they are readily carried by railway trains, and to islands it is well known 

 that they are carried long distances upon ships and that in earlier times they 

 were allowed to breed freely in the fresh-water supply of vessels. Therefore it 

 must not be considered remarkable that of the fifteen species collected by Mr. 

 Coffin none of them are distinctively Bahamian. It is rather curious though 

 that without exception all have a North American distribution, although 

 several of tliem have also a tropical range. Certain forms, like -Culex pipiens 

 Linne, are cosmopolitan; Stegomyia fasciata (Fabr.) is found all through the 

 tropical life zone and in regions which correspond to the Lower Austral in 

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