4 THE FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGIST 
Oregon and the Rockies, in the prairie sloughs of Montana and 
the Dakotas, in the river sloughs and marshes of Wisconsin, and 
in the swamps of New England. It is thus with the greater 
surprise that I have found the natural surface waters of Florida 
so free from them. There is a valid biological reason for this 
in the fact that Florida waters are so abundantly stocked with 
natural enemies. Minnows swarm in sinks to all appearances 
entirely separated from other surface waters. Dragon- and 
damsel-flies, often called “mosquito hawks”, are everywhere in 
Florida and their aquatic larvae, all carnivorous and active, 
voracious feeders, make short shrift of mosquito wrigglers m 
any pools that may be inaccessible to minnows. Then there 
are the water-bugs, water-scorpions, water-striders, water-boat- 
men and the whole series of predaceous water-beetles policing 
both surface and bottom of every pool, stream or lake margin. 
If man would consistently do his part, I am convinced that 
natural enemies would effectively do theirs in holding mosquitoes 
in check in Florida. . 
How can the people do their part? One home may breed mos- 
quitoes to cover an area at least two hundred yards in diameter. 
How can we get every home, rich and poor, black and white, to do 
its share for its own comfort and safety and for that of the whole 
community? The solution of this problem means more to 
Florida socially, educationally and’ financially than possibly that 
of any other problem in the state. The statistics of our own State 
Board of Health give a death rate from malaria for 1919 of 41.8 
per 100,000 of population; while for other states in the registra- 
tion area the rate was only 3.2 (for 1917). We try, at least, to 
provide by law that every citizen shall learn to read and write. 
Of the two, in Florida, I should prefer to live next door to a man 
who could not read, if he knew how to prevent the breeding of 
mosquitoes on his premises, to living alongside of a university 
professor who didn’t know and wouldn’t learn enough to do this. - 
Adequate and universally required science lessons in every 
grammar and high school in Florida offers the only practicable 
solution for the problem I can find. In what other way can we 
hope to reach every home? 
Probably not one adult in ten has ever seen mosquito eggs, to 
know them, or has clear ideas about the life history of the insects. 
Every school child can be given this information in a single well 
developed science lesson. These lessons are clearly outlined in 
available books; but the pupils should collect and study the actual 
