III. T A X O N O M I C \' A L U E vS IN C U I. I C I D .E . 



By E. Brt'xetti. 



Since the connection between mosquitoes and malaria was 

 definitely established a few years ago, numerous writers (medical, 

 anatomical, biological, economical and so on, — practically every- 

 thing but dipterological) have appeared, probably attracted b\- the 

 economic aspect of the question. It is to be. regretted that hardly 

 any of these have possessed an^' general entomological knowledge, 

 and the natural consequence has arisen ; the differences between 

 the various forms have been so gro.ssly exaggerated taxonomically 

 that a few years more progress at the same rate might see the Culi- 

 cidse elevated to the rank of a Sub-kingdom, with classes, sub- 

 classes, orders and so on. The absurdity- of even the present 

 state of things is so self-evident to ever\^one with a general know- 

 ledge of Diptera combined with some acquaintance with taxonomic 

 values in other orders also, that a serious protest seems imperative. 



The critical observations contained herein are not intended 

 as any attack on what our American contemporaries amiably 

 designate " mosquito sharps," but as a real and earnest protest 

 against the utter disregard to zoological value and stability exhi- 

 bited in the creation, on characters often of quite minor importance, 

 of hosts of new "genera" and even "sub-families," to say 

 nothing of species, the latter being a point on which opinion may 

 for the present be reserved. 



Prof. Williston is, so far as I am aware, the only systematic 

 dipterologist to endeavour to stem the tide of irresponsible additions 

 to the literature of this order, ^ but apparently with little success, 

 and it seems - incumbent on me to support dipterological opinion, 

 having associated myself, at least clerically, with the Culicidiv 

 of the Orient. 



His most instructive i)a])er should be carefully read by all, 

 because the whole subject is presented with the greatest moderation 

 yet with absolute conciseness, in spite of the ])re,sent condition 

 of things in this family being calculated to cause consideral)le irri- 

 tation to the systematist. 



To quote a few of his more pertinent observations, it is im- 

 portant that of the present-day writers on mosquitoes nearly all are 

 non-dipterologists, "some indeed, whose only pai)ers on ento- 

 mology have been those proposing new subfamilies ! 



' ' Their ignorance of related Diptera has more than once been 

 deplorably shown by writers on the Culicidic ' ' and he observes 

 " no one is competent to di.scuss philosophically the classification 

 of any group of animal life, who is not well grounded in the princii)k'S 

 of taxonomy as ap])lied to related animals," for " the mosquitoes 



I " The Classification of the Culicidcp," Can. Ent. , xxxviii, 384. 



