MOSQUITOES. 



193 



these tormenters acts very differently upon different persons; 

 in some it causes large swellings, in others fever and pains 

 in limbs, and in extreme cases even insanity, while others 

 are but little annoyed. 



We have a large number of species in our state and in 

 certain years and localities thej^ make such places almost 

 uninhabitable for man. Prof. Riley remarks in "Little 

 Known Facts about Well Known Animals," that "they 

 have caused the rout of armies and the desertion of 



Fig. 158. — Aiwpfieles quadrimaculatus Say. Greatly enlarged. Original. 



cities, and the hum of an insignificant gnat may inspire more 

 terror than the roar of the lion." (Historical data are not 

 given.) "The bravest man on the fleetest horse dare not 

 cross some of the more rank and dark prairies of Northern 

 Minnesota in June. It is well known that Father De Smith 

 once nearly died from mosquito bites, his flesh being so 

 swollen around the arms and legs that it literal iy burst. 

 Those who have traveled in summer on the lower Mississippi 

 or in the North-west, have experienced the torment which 



