78 Searle, Gleanings of a City Naturalist. [voi!^xxxvi.^ 



with white cylindrical eggs, closely packed together in two 

 large bundles. Each of these bundles, which are the enlarged 

 ovaries, contains about 70 strings of eggs in various stages of 

 development, and the ovaries open into two ducts which join 

 together to form a central oviduct opening into the telescopic 

 ovipositor. 



The mosquito also is worthy of minute examination. 

 The wings, covered with handsome scales, the halteres, legs, 

 and tarsi display their structure wonderfully well, while a well- 

 mounted head and mouth parts is worthy of a place in any 

 cabinet of sUdes. In the mosquito — as is sometimes the case 

 with a higher order of animals — it is the female that is the 

 cause of all the trouble. It is she that has developed the habit 

 of sucking blood from living animals, the male contenting him- 

 self with a vegetable diet, from which, some naturalists say, 

 he never departs. I am sorry to throw doubt on such a good 

 reputation, but truth compels me to state that I have undoubted 

 proof of a male mosquito of the genus Stegomyia sucking 

 human blood. If the head of a female mosquito is placed 

 in dilute liquor potassa for an hour or two, then washed in warm 

 water until all the potash is removed, it can be placed on a 

 glass slip, and with a couple of needles mounted in handles 

 the mouth parts can be drawn from their sheath and carefully 

 displayed on the slip. It is then covered with another slip, 

 taking care not to disarrange the parts, and dehydrated in 

 alcohol, cleared in clove oil or cajaput, and mounted in balsam. 

 The largest of the mouth parts is the labrum or tongue. 

 Slightly smaller than the labrum is the labium, which forms a 

 sheath for the maxillae and mandibles, four in number. Two 

 of them are sharp-pointed and are used for piercing ; the other 

 two are armed with fine serrations, which are used, probably, 

 to enlarge the wound made by the lancets. At either side of 

 the tongue are the maxillary palps, and outside these are the 

 antennae. The rest of the head is taken up with the two 

 hemispherical compound eyes. The same mouth parts, but 

 less highly developed, are found in the male, but his antennae 

 are most beautifully plumose. It has been stated that the 

 use of these beautiful appendages is to guide him to the female. 

 Experiment has proved that when a high note is sounded, of 

 the same pitch as that produced by the female mosquito, the 

 setae on the antennae of the male, pointing in the direction of 

 the sound, vibrate in unison with it. It is asserted that the 

 buzzing of the female mosquito causes certain of the setae on 

 the antennae of the male to vibrate. The male then flies in 

 the direction from whence the vibrations come, and is so led 

 to the presence of the female. 



Hymenoptera. — The Hymcnoptera is represented by two 



