Notes on the Commoner Species 155 



to October, when the females retire for the winter ; 

 in Baton Rouge the adults are hard to find in De- 

 cember and January, but the larvae are obtained as 

 early as February 21 and as late as the last part of 

 November, though I do not think these late batches 

 often come to maturity. 



The female does not wait to mate before she 

 bites, and is ready for a meal within 12 hours after 

 emergence. Often she feeds twice and lays 2 rafts 

 of from 50 to 55 eggs anywhere from 2 to 10 days 

 after her meal. The eggs hatch in from 2 to 4 days, 

 the larval period is 18 to 24 days, and the pupal 

 stage lasts normally 2 or 3 days, but may be ex- 

 tended by cold to 16. This insect the Doctor found 

 to live for 17 days in captivity after emergence, and 

 for 14 days without food. 



Dr. Smith remarks that the egg boats of this 

 species go to pieces rapidly and are difficult to dis- 

 cover, the larvae occurring, as a rule, more abun- 

 dantly near the highland than the shore, preferring 

 rain pools or those formed by springs, but living 

 both in fresh and in salt water throughout the marsh. 

 Unlike the other marsh species, it is also found in 

 the more permanent pools. He states that it is 

 fond of hiding in cellars, great numbers being found 

 in the basements of factories near the salt meadows. 



This species is distributed along the eastern half 

 of the United States. 



Ochlerotatus sollicitans. — This marsh dweller, 

 which enjoys the unenviable reputation of being 

 the pest of New Jersey, breeds there only up- 

 on the salt marshes, though it also multiplies 



