I9I4-] E. Brunetti : Review of Genera in Culicidae. 31 



Anophelinae are the frontal hairs of the head and the structure of 

 the antennae and the palmate hairs; in the Culicinae,X^Q- form of 

 the clypeus, the siphon and the so-called comb at its base, theanten- 

 nal structure and the number and structure of the spines forming 

 the pecten, Theobald adds (iv, 6) a table by Felt classifying a 

 certain number of species by larval characters including species 

 widely different in the adult stage. As a matter of fact, accord- 

 ing to Felt's own diagnoses, the larva shows considerable differ- 

 ence in their so-called genera Culicelsa, Culicada, Ecculex, Culicella, 

 Culiseta and Protoculex, all of which are inseparable from Culex, 

 proper. It must also be noted that Theobald and others of his 

 school contend that classification by larval characters is most 

 untrustworthy, separating very closely allied species, and bringing 

 together widely different ones. Moreover, animals are classified 

 on their adult forms and not on transitional stages. It is also 

 well known in diptera that closely allied species are not infre- 

 quently widely different in their early stages. 



In Dyar and Knab's lengthy paper on the larvae of Culicidae, 

 classified as independent organisms, they combat the value of scale 

 structure as a character of generic values {t. Th. iv, 13). In this 

 paper they sink all the anopheline genera in Anopheles, yet raise 

 one species, barberi, Coq. to generic rank, {Coelodiazeses), a species 

 that Theobald considers so near bifurcatus, L,., as to be hardl}^ 

 separable. These authors admit three sub-families, Anophelinae , 

 Culicinae and Sabethinae ; they refer several of Theobald's species 

 to other genera, and sink Ochlerotaius, Haeniagogus, Slegomyia , 

 Grabha^nia, Howardina, Verrallina, Culicelsa, Culicada, Ecculex, 

 Protoculex , Gymnoptera , Lepidoplatys and Pseudoculex in Aedes. 



Haeniagogus has every appearance of a good genus, whilst the 

 prospect of Stegomyia proving a natural group is strong. Aedes 

 is certainly distinct from the genera around Culex. 



The sole substantial character drawn from larval stages that 

 does not interfere with adult classification, is the absence of a 

 respiratory siphon in the Anophelinae , an organ which is present 

 in the other groups. 



One very useful piece of information gleaned from larval 

 characters is the absolute affinity of the Corethrinae with the 

 Culicidae. 



*' Even when the most is made of the difference between the 

 larva of Culex and the larva of Corethra, there still remains the 

 fact that the larva of Mochlonyx (whose adult is indisputably 

 corethrine) possesses the structural peculiarities of the larva both of 

 Corelhra and of Culex, besides exhibiting in its four clypeal bristles 

 one of the peculiarities of the larva of Anopheles " (Alcock, Ann. 

 Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), viii, 240 and Entom. for Medical Officers, 



p. 59)- 



In further support of the larval characters alone being an 



insufficient guide to real affinity, Prof. Mienert may be drawn 



upon. "The likeness between the imagines of the genus is the 



more remarkable as the difference between the larvae and pupae 



