56 Mosquitoes 



Dupree and the writer. The insects were first noticed 

 at about 9 A. M., on the vertical side of the jar, the fe- 

 male walking up the side, dragging after her the male, 

 whose tarsi hardly touched the sides of the receptacle, 

 his forefeet being almost constantly in the air. When 

 the female reached the netting on top of the jar, she 

 walked on this with the male hanging downward, his 

 feet in the air and wide spread, his body almost at 

 right angles to hers. The pair moved about fre- 

 quently. When they took to the air they faced in 

 opposite directions, both using their wings. The fe- 

 male walked and flew about for upwards of two and 

 one-half hours in copula. In another case the mating 

 had lasted at least five hours, when Dr. Dupree and I 

 left the laboratory. Both of these females bit later 

 and laid fertile eggs within thirty-six hours after their 

 meal. 



We also noted solitary pairs of J. posticata flying 

 in copula through the woods about twilight, but 

 never saw swarms of them. 



Dr. Goeldi's account of the swarming and mating 

 of C. fatigans is so vividly picturesque that I cannot 

 refrain from translating a part of it: 



" They swarm through our windows at nightfall, filling 

 our barracks with an evil humming, to celebrate their 

 bacchanalian orgies. They are chiefly males, coming in 

 swarms of from fifty to one hundred or so. They unite into 

 a dense cloud, coming into the house to find the females 

 already there. An infernal music from numberless dancers 

 fills our ears, at the same time one or another continually 

 dashes against our faces, with hateful impudence and 

 palpable provocation. Striking a light, we see round 



