HOW TO COLLECT MOSQUITOES 



{CULIGW.E). 



INTRODUCTION. 



SvsTEMATic Position, Distinctive Characters, and Life History 



OF Mosquitoes. 



Mosquitoes or gnats (strictly speaking, the terms are synonymous) 

 are the names popularly applied to the family Culicidce, of the 

 Order of insects known as Diptera [Two-ivingecl Flies), which also 

 includes, besides othei" families the species of which are more or 

 less gnat-like in form, such as the true midges {Chirono7nidw), 

 fungus-midges {Mycetoj^hilidw), daddy-long-legs {Tipididce), etc., a 

 large number the members of which are more " fly "-like in shape, 

 ^.g. the blue-bottles and house-flies (Muscidce), tsetse-flies {Glossina), 

 horse-flies {Tabanidw), hover-flies [Syrphidai), etc. 



Culicidce are by no means the only blood-sucking Diptera, for the 

 Order also comprises the blood-sucking midges (genus Ceratopogon, 

 etc., belonging to the family C hirono7nidre) , the sand-flies or 

 Siinididm^ horse-flies or Tabanidce, and blood-sucking Muscidm 

 {Glossina. Stomoxys, Ilcematobia) . In the perfect state the females 

 of all of these suck blood, while the males are usually harmless, 

 though in the tsetse-flies (Glossina) the blood-sucking habit is 

 common to both sexes, as is the Cfise in certain species of mosquitoes 

 (see " Observations on Habits, Distribution, etc.," p. 88). 



The other blood-sucking Diptera, with the possible exception of 



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