248 Lt.-Col. A. Alcock on the 



The genus HeptaphJehomyia, Theobald, which has been 

 proposed as the representative of a distinct subfamily, seems 

 to me to be merely a Culex with a few inconstant scales on 

 the so-called seventh longitudinal vein — a vein that exists in 

 many species of mosquitoes. 



The genus Dmocerites, Theobald, which has also been 

 proposed as a representative of a distinct subfamily, also 

 seems 1o me to be a slightly modified Culex. The antennae 

 are of extraordinary length in both sexes, and the insect is 

 said to have the habit of breeding in the brackish water that 

 collects in the burrows of crabs. This habit may possibly 

 explain the length of the antennae, which, like the elongated 

 antennae of certain insects that inhabit dark caves, and the 

 exceedingly long streamers of certain fishes that live in the 

 sunless depths of the ocean, may be an adaptation to con- 

 ditions where eyesight is of no avail. That Dinocerites also 

 has well-developed eyes does not invalidate this suggestion, 

 since the insect is not said to spend the whole of its existence 

 in dark crab-burrows. 



b. Genera of the Stegomyia type. — Though some loose 

 cuneiform scales are usually to be found on the nape, and 

 though a few localized falculate scales may exist on the head 

 and scutellum, the predominant — sometimes the only — scales 

 of both these regions are flat overlapping squames that 

 impart a very smooth appearance. The wings are never 

 spotted, and their scales are slender and stiff-looking. The 

 palpi, as a rule, are long in the male and quite short in the 

 female, but they may be decidedly shorter than the proboscis 

 in the male (e. g. in Hyleccetomyia)^ or as much as two-thirds 

 the length of the proboscis in the female (e. g. in Brevi- 

 rhynchus and in a species of Leicesteria) , or quite short in 

 both sexes [e. g. in Harpagomyia) . 



c. Genera of the Aedes type. — Though there may be some 

 localized cuneiform and falculate scales on the head, the 

 predominant scales are flat overlapping squames, as in 

 Stegomyio. The scales of the scutellum are entirely falculate. 

 The palpi may be quite short in both sexes (e. g. in Aedes), 

 or short in the female and about two-thirds the length of the 

 proboscis in the male (e. g. in Mimomyia) , or short in the 

 female and as long as the proboscis in the male (e. g. in 

 Pseudoskusea) . 



d. Genera of the Uranotania type. — The predominant — 

 somelimes the only — scales of the head and scutellum are 



