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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM 



banana leaf -axils have been examined in this area, but only one has 

 ever produced mosquito larvae. Further collections at the proper 

 time of the year in this and similar plants, and in flower bracts of 

 HeJiconia^ may reveal additional Tripteroides in the Solomons. It is 

 well to remember that in such habitats the larvae may not be visible 

 until the muck is diluted with water and that they often cling to the 

 plant. 



Table 4. — Habitats of immature stages 0/ Tripteroides 



The larval habits are very similar in all Tripteroides of the Solo- 

 mons. The larvae normally rest and move on their backs on the bottom 

 of their breeding places, where they feed. They seldom come to the 

 surface. In the subgenus Rachisoura the larvae are predaceous, feed- 

 ing on other mosquito larvae and also on members of their own species. 

 To what degree they are predaceous in nature has not been deter- 

 mined, but in the laboratory they can be reared to adulthood on artifi- 

 cial media. In the field we have noted that species of Rachisov/ra feed 

 on dead ants stranded in their breeding places. The larval develop- 

 ment is rather long and may take two weeks or longer, even under 

 natural conditions, except perhaps for T. solomonis. 



The pupae of Tripteroides are easily recognized in the field by the 

 large fan-shaped tufts on segments VII and VIII of the abdomen. 

 They are unusually large in the subgenus Rachisoura. Development 

 is slow. It usually takes three to four days or even longer in the labora- 

 tory. 



During the course of this study, eggs of Tripteroides were not col- 

 lected. Edwards (1932) states that they are laid singly on the surface 

 of the water of breeding places. 



The habits of the adults are poorly known. The majority of species 

 do not attack man, but a few become pests. In the Solomons, T. solo- 

 monis frequently bites humans, readily enters dwellings, and is at- 

 tracted to electric lights. Of the other species, lipovshyi and stonei 

 occasionally bite man. The remainder probably obtain their blood 



