230 THE MOSQUITOES OF NEW JERSEY 



blades with slightly hooked cleft tips. Mental plate broadly triangular, 

 emarginate at apex for the space of the three middle teeth, seven teeth 

 on each side, stout, subequal ; secondary plates thin, membranous, with 

 apical fringes. Mandible quadrangular, straight without, smooth ; two 

 branched appendages at angle before tip ; an outer row of coarse cilia ; 

 terminal dentition of five teeth, very large, ensiform, the third and fifth 

 smaller; a large rounded projection based of teeth, within which arises 

 a row of long subequal setae. Maxilla rounded quadrangular, basal 

 angle with a group of flattened appendages with recurved tips ; inner 

 angle with shorter filaments, a seta, and two papillae ; palpus nearly 

 divided by the suture, erect, columnar, flat at tip, smooth, with three 

 rudimentary terminal digits. Thorax rounded, about as wide as long; 

 lateral hairs short, very stout, heaviest ones spinulose. Abdomen stout, 

 segments angled at sides, anterior ones shorter ; hairs abundant but not 

 long, all the lateral tufts coarse, multiple to fifth segment, arising from 

 large chitinous tubercles. Tracheal tubes moderately broad, invisible in 

 the larva, the skin darkly pigmented. Air-tube stout, conically tapered 

 outwardly, about two and one-half times as long as wide ; no pecten ; a 

 single tuft near base. A large plate on sides of eighth segment with two 

 stout spinulose hairs on its posterior margin. Anal segment about as 

 long as wide, ringed by the plate ; dorsal tufts of two long brushes on 

 each side ; a single spinulose lateral hair ; ventral brush well developed, 

 of branched tufts, posterior one feathered ; anal gills very short, bud- 

 shaped. 



HABITS 



"The larvae live normally in water in hollow trees where other mos- 

 quito larvae occur upon which they feed. More rarely they are found in 

 artificial receptacles. Specimens have been taken in water-filled rock 

 holes in which cases they were associated with Aedes atropalpus. The 

 eggs are found floating on the water singly and the larvae hatch 

 quickly. They feed exclusively upon other mosquito larvae present, 

 which they swallow whole. They feed largely upon Orthopodomyia slg- 

 nifer and Aedes triseriatus but will also eat other larvae when oppor- 

 tunity offers, even of their own species. Hibernation occurs as fully 

 grown larva and pupation follows in the spring, as shown by Morgan 

 and Cotton. There are probably several generations during the season, 

 as the imagos occur from early spring until late in the autumn. The 

 larvae can only overwinter in tree-holes containing permanently a sup- 

 ply of water. The adults are diurnal, both sexes frequenting flowers. 

 Mr. Thibault has made the following observations which seem to stand 



