MOSQUITO BIOLOGY 223 



core of solid ice that they contained and, looking through it, saw wrig- 

 glers imbedded in all parts, in all sorts of shapes ; but mostly in a half 

 coil. The temperature had been down to two degrees below zero as regis- 

 tered by a standard minimum thermometer, and radiation probably 

 lowered this even more. 



A number of leaves were gathered, the cores of ice with all they con- 

 tained were removed, and the lumps were placed together in a jar in a 

 moderately warm room. The ice melted slowly, and, as the larvae were 

 gradually freed, they dropped to the bottom where, for a time they 

 rested; apparently lifeless. But as the amount of ice decreased, feeble 

 motions here and there indicated a revival and, long before the lumps 

 were completely melted, those first released were moving about actively. 

 This, be it noted, was in water not much above the freezing point and, 

 when the ice had all melted and the debris had settled, the larvae became 

 busily engaged in feeding. 



The specimens were sent to me as a curiosity, January 22, and ar- 

 rived in very good condition. A few had succumbed to the dangers of the 

 journey, but, altogether, there was a good lot of lively wrigglers. The 

 bottle was nearly full of water, it had had a five-mile wagon drive over 

 a rough road, had been transhipped no less than four times before it 

 reached New Brunswick, and then was thrown into a delivery wagon and 

 jolted through the city streets before it actually reached me. Under 

 these circumstances any regular breathing of the kind usually described 

 was utterly out of the question and the drownings should have been 

 numerous ; but really only a small number died. 



At short intervals other jars were received, all out of melted ice taken 

 from pitcher plants, until I had several hundred active wrigglers in 

 eight different jars. Some of the leaf chunks had only ten or a dozen 

 larvae, others ran as high as thirty or more. The jars were all placed on 

 a counter shelf near a steam radiator, and it was expected that in a few 

 days there would be pupae and adults. But the days passed into weeks 

 and the weeks into months without change other than a very gradual 

 increase in size. The larvae were just as active as could be expected and 

 fed continuously, but they showed no disposition to change their condi- 

 tion. 



As the fragments settled the water became clear and the larvae con- 

 gregated over the sediment, feeding head down and frequently rooting 

 into it. It was rare that an individual was observed at the surface with 

 the spiracle in breathing position. I watched patiently for fifteen min- 

 utes at a time, without noting a single individual rising to the top and 

 Air. Dickerson watched almost continuously one day for two hours and 



