1 66 Mosquitoes 



Mr. Brakeley has found that the larvae winter over 

 in a half-grown condition under the ice. They are, 

 he says, slow-moving creatures and feed at the bot- 

 tom. From their anatomy I imagine they lie on their 

 backs, or, at least, do not grub in the mud. The 

 adults do not seem to bite and are not, therefore, of 

 much economic importance. 



Wyeomyia smithii. — A curious little swamp 

 dweller is W. smithii, the pitcher-plant mosquito, 

 found breeding in the leaves of these plants from 

 Canada southward to Florida and as far west as 

 Illinois. We did not have it in Baton Rouge. The 

 larvae grub about in the debris at the bottoms of the 

 pitcher-plant leaves, and occasionally feed, head up- 

 ward, at the surface. They seem to breathe at the 

 top but rarely. They will eat dead gnat larvae. This 

 species does not like foul water, and is not injured in 

 the early stages by cold. Mr. Brakeley records that 

 they freeze up solidly in the pitcher-plant leaves 

 during the winter, thawing out in the spring, and the 

 larval stage may last as long as ten months, including 

 the entire summer. The egg-laying seems to be done 

 at night, and the ova may be deposited in perfectly 

 dry, usually new, leaves, according to Mr. Brakeley, 

 singly, in groups fastened to the sides or, if water is 

 present, floating. The eggs may be from twenty to 

 one hundred in a leaf, and are comparatively large. 

 The adults appear in May in New Jersey. I never 

 could coax those I raised in Washington to bite. 

 They lived about a week and drank water; there is no 

 evidence that they are addicted to blood. The posi- 

 tion they assume while at rest is very odd, the hind 



