Notes on the Commoner Species 145 



Dr. Agramonte asserts that the eggs of calopus 

 hatch sooner in lye of wood ash than in the dirty 

 water of overflows or gutters, the larvae emerging in 

 from fifteen hours to three days. 



S. calopus (Fig. 22, page 107) is pre-eminently a bac- 

 teria-eating wiggler — indeed, says Dr. Dupree, as a 

 sewage devourer it is to be commended. This ex- 

 plains the lack of agreement in the past of the New 

 Orleans observers as to whether or not it is a cistern 

 breeder. If the cistern water abounds in live crea- 

 tures, the larvae will thrive, reaching the adult stage 

 rapidly. If aquatic organisms are scarce, most of 

 the wigglers will perish. Some, however, after a 

 prolonged existence, will reach maturity but will be 

 small in size. The Doctor reared them in jars of Baton 

 Rouge hydrant water, which is practically pure, the 

 larvae apparently subsisting chiefly on what fell in 

 from the air. Most of these larvae did not live to 

 pupate. When found dead in such vessels or in 

 cisterns, it is not from drowning, but from sheer 

 starvation. 



Young, newly hatched 6". calopus larvae are re- 

 markably tenacious under water. They were found 

 to tolerate, with apparent comfort, three hours of 

 continuous submergence and can be resuscitated 

 after as much as five hours under water. The full- 

 grown larvae were found to be able to survive these 

 conditions for one and a half hours without visible 

 effect, and can be revived after two hours. Dr. 

 Agramonte speaks of the 0/^ larvae remaining under 

 water for as long as four or five hours, but Dr. 

 Dupree's invariably died after any such lengthy 



