8 Mosquitoes 



mostly cup-shaped, with many long hairs around 

 the rim of the cup, and the last segment long and 

 slender. Some of these hairs are for auditory pur- 

 poses, as Mayer proved by experiment. He also 

 ascertained that the intensity of their vibration is 

 greatest when the sound is directly ahead, and that 

 in this way the song of the female serves as a guide 

 to the male. It is well known that sustained notes 

 of a certain pitch will attract mosquitoes even from 

 some distance. 



In this connection the experience of Sir Hiram 

 Maxim is well worth relating. While engaged in 

 constructing an electric-light apparatus, he noticed 

 that one of the lamps gave out a constant musical 

 note. One evening he discovered that everything 

 near the box below this light was covered with 

 mosquitoes, all males, notwithstanding the fact that 

 the females preponderated in numbers in the vicinity. 

 He found that when the lamps were set in action all 

 male mosquitoes at once faced in the direction of 

 the lamp which gave forth the musical note, and 

 flew straight at it. The buzz of the lamp was prac- 

 tically identical in tone with that of the female mos- 

 quito. Sir Maxim says: " If you obtain a tuning- 

 fork which emits a note as near to that of a female 

 mosquito as possible, and strike this fork within 

 twenty feet of a male mosquito, he will at once turn 

 about, face the music, and erect the two little 

 feathers of his head, something after the manner of 

 a cockatoo." 



Mr. F. K. Pearse remarks that persons are more 

 likely to be bitten when engaged in conversation 



