DIPTKRA OF MINNESOTA. 43 



To account for this distribution of the various faniiHes of mos- 

 quitoes, it must be borne in mind that they are easily spread from one 

 locaHty to far distant points in various ways, the cars and ships being 

 the most common means of dispersal. 



As the male of the human race finds it convenient to lay the blame 

 of all mishaps to the opposite sex, so may the head of the house in the 

 mosquito family say with equal emphasis, "The woman, she did it," 

 for with one or two isolated exceptions the female mosquito does all 

 the biting. She it is which drives sleep away from our eyes in the 

 summer, distracts us in the open, and causes unlimited profanity. 

 The sufferer from yellow fever goes to his grave as a result of her 

 bite. The disease known as Filariasis can be laid at her door, and 

 the malarial patient can ascribe his helplessness to the lady Anopheles, 

 not to her mate. 



Now, while it is believed that mosquitoes which are associated 

 with warm blooded animals, man included, apparently cannot lay 

 fertile eggs until fed upon blood, it is very evident that mosquitoes 

 breed by the millions in localities where no such food is at their 

 command. They may and do attack cold blooded animals, such 

 as turtles and the like, but this limited diet would not suffice for the 

 myriads which are found on the edge of the Arctic circle and else- 

 where, where even cold blooded animals are very few in number. We 

 are forced to the conclusion, then, that originally these pests were, 

 as they must be now in certain localities, vegetable feeders, and that 

 the blood sucking habit, upon which many of them have become so 

 dependent, is an acquired habit. To bear out this theory is the fact 

 that they appear very fond of bananas, clustering about the grow- 

 ing fruit, and have been kept alive upon slices of this fruit. They 

 are apparently fond of any juicy fruit, and even jam, or a syrup made 

 from sugar. Theobald has observed C. pipicns in England feeding 

 upon decaying apples, and we know that they are attracted to beer and 

 wine. Doubtless the fermentation of the juices of the apple, referred 

 to by Theobald, was the attraction. 



BREEDING HABITS. 



Mosquitoes breed mostly in fresh water, though some frequent 

 salt water for this purpose, and some breed in both fresh and brackish 

 water. Almost without exception they require the water to be still. 



