THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 11 



little recognition from English writers on either Entomology 

 or Microscopy. Mn' friend Mr. Walker rather briefly men- 

 tions the fact that " the hind margin of the wings in 

 the Culicidaj is fringed with scales;" and of Aedes he 

 says, " fringed with scales, similar in structure to those of 

 Culicidae;" and of Culicidae he observes that the wing-rays 

 are " fringed with scales." He mentioned the same character 

 as applicable to Corelhra, and other genera of the same 

 section of sessile-bodied Diptera; but I do not observe 

 that Mr. Walker notices the dense clothing of scales which 

 almost totally conceals the proboscis and tarsi. In a paper 

 by Mr. Hogg, published at p. 192 of the October number of 

 the ' Monthly Microscopical Journal,' it is staled, that " the 

 scales of gnats are of four distinct kinds : the proboscis, 

 palpi and legs are entirely covered over with the battledore 

 scales, represented in fig. 1 [common in Lepidoptera]. The ner- 

 vures or venations of the wings [wing-rays], and portions of the 

 body of the insect, have regularly arranged rows of the scales 

 shown at fig. 2; while from the marginal edges of the wings 

 project slender scales, which terminate in a point, as in 

 fig. 3. The intermediate portions of the wings and body are 

 covered with fine hairs, and the thorax with tufts of feathery 

 scales, somewhat peculiar in form, as in fig. 4, the pedicles of 

 which are considerably longer than the rest, while the upperpart 

 gradually widens out, and terminates abruptly in a crenated 

 edge. These may be briefly described as ' trumpet- shaped 

 scales.' In each case the scale is inserted by a narrow 

 pedicle into the chitinous membrane, gradually assumes a 

 scutiform appearance, and terminates in a crenate or pointed 

 edge. The basement membrane is homogeneous, and the 

 upper layer is corrugated, or traversed by longitudinal ribs, 

 and these, again, are regularly and finely striated throughout 

 in the horizontal plane. It is this striation on the ribs 

 which, when seen slightly out of focus, gives to the scale a 

 wavy appearance." Mr. Hogg says, it is probable that the 

 scales of the various species of Culex will, after a careful 

 examination, be found to differ; as, upon going over the 

 collection of gnats in the British Museum, he discovered one 

 with the scale represented at fig. 8. I sincerely hope 

 these valuable and interesting investigations will be con- 

 tinued, 



