﻿202 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. lOo 



insects. I spent 21 months on Guadalcanal Island and during that 

 time conducted a systematic survey of the mosquito fauna of the 

 coastal region. About 20,000 specimens of adults and probably an 

 even larger number of larvae were preserved during this investiga- 

 tion. About 70 species were found on this island alone. Almost 

 every species was individually reared, so that now we have definite 

 correlation between adults and immature stages. Other workers ac- 

 cumulated large collections, particularly on the New Georgia group 

 and on Bougainville Island. A large share of this material has been 

 available to me for study. 



I have undertaken to monograph the mosquitoes of the Solomon 

 Islands. In collaboration with several other workers, I have already 

 reviewed the anophelines of this group (Belkin, Knight, and Roze- 

 boom, 1945) . The present study is the first in a series on the culicine 

 mosquitoes. With the amount of material available and the large 

 percentage of new species, it will take several years to cover thor- 

 oughly all the culicines. The genus Trlpteroides has been very poorly 

 known in the Solomons, as well as in the rest of its range, until 

 1946. The Solomons species are reviewed here from a taxonomic 

 and ecological viewpoint. In all probability only a small percentage 

 of the actual fauna is now known when one considers that only the 

 coastal areas have been investigated. It is hoped that this study 

 will stimulate more active collecting in the Solomon Islands and that 

 eventually we shall have a thorough knowledge of this extremely 

 interesting genus. 



I wish to express my gratitude to Prof. Robert Matheson, who has 

 encouraged and directed my interest in mosquitoes, who has given me 

 much advice, and under whom this study was carried out. To Dr. 

 Alan Stone, of the United States Bureau of Entomology and Plant 

 Quarantine, I am much indebted for innumerable favors while I was 

 overseas and during the course of this investigation. I wish to thank, 

 also. Dr. Edward A. Chapin, curator of the division of insects. United 

 States National Museum, for the loan of valuable material. The men 

 of the 420th Malaria Survey Detachment collected much of the ma- 

 terial forming the basis of this work. I am particularly indebted 

 to the following members of this organization for their faithful work 

 and help in carrying out the mosquito survey of Guadalcanal : Arthur 

 W. Barnes, Jr., Murray Cohen, Stanley B. Civinski, James J. Cuccio, 

 Charles S. HoUingshead, Louis J. Lipovsky, Edward J. McCor- 

 mick, Jr., Vernon R. Roa, Henry F. Sexauer, Leo K. Walukas, 

 Eric C. Winkler, and Francis B. Wysocki. I wish to thank, also, 

 John G. Franclemont for his gift of a large collection of mosquitoes 

 from the New Georgia group and for ecological notes. 



