80 Psyche [April 



THE FOOD-HABITS OF MEGARHINUS.' 



By Frederick Knab, 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



In a previous paper discussing the food-habits of mosquitoes 

 I have expressed the opinion that the species of Megarhinus do 

 not suck blood but feed wholly upon the sweets of flowers. - I 

 was fully aware of the statements of some authors that these 

 mosquitoes bite, but for several reasons I was convinced that 

 these assertions are based on faulty observation or misidentifica- 

 tion. Indeed I have failed to find any record at first hand of 

 Megarhinus biting. Thus Theobald quotes Captain James 

 that Megarhinus immisericors "bites very severely in southern 

 India, and that its bite is very poisonous. It is known to the 

 natives as the 'Stinging Elephant Mosquito.' " ^ It is to be judged 

 from this quotation that Capt. James obtained his information 

 from natives; we can safely put aside such evidence for there is 

 little reason to doubt that, if there is any truth in the statement at 

 all, other large mosquitoes were the real culprits. Later, on 

 information obtained from correspondents, Theobald states of 

 Megarhinus separatus: "They are called 'carapana' and bite very 

 badly in the daytime and at night." ^ The truth is that in the 

 Amazon region "carapana" is the vulgar name for any mosquito. 

 We have here, then, another error of like character with that of 

 Capt. James. This same mosquito is also accused by Goeldi on 

 information from his entomological preparator, Mr. Adolphus 

 Ducke, who assured him that its sting was comparable in severity 

 to that of a wasp. ^ On the other hand good observers have 

 expressed their belief that these mosquitoes do not bite. Ban- 

 croft says of Megarhinus speciosus: "It is not a biting mosquito." ^ 



' In Megarhinus are included the species which have been placed in Toxorhynchites Theobald. 

 I do not consider the character used in the separation of the two, the difference in the length 

 of the palpi in one sex, as admissible for generic separation. Its introduction has only led to 

 confusion and much needless synonymy. No attempt is here made to coordinate the specific 

 names and they are used as given in the originals, ]Vorccsteria Banks has already been disposed 

 of by Professor Theobald (Monogr. Culic, vol. 5, 1910, p. 110). 



' Journ. New York. Ent. Soc, vol. 15, p. 219 (1907). 



•Monogr. Culic., vol. 1, p. 226 (1901). 



« Monogr. Culic, vol. 3, p. 114 (1903). 



' Os Mosquitos no Pari. Mem. Museu Goeldi, no. 4, p. 124 (1905). 



• Ann. Queensland Mus., no. 8, p. 17 (1908). 



