﻿262 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM voi.. lOo 



age of the individuals at the time they were killed. Such specimens 

 still show the black thoracic hairs in contrast with the dark-orange 

 integument. 



Specimens examined: 24 individual rearings; 104 adults, 115 larvae, 

 54 pupae. 



Biology. — The aquatic stages of lipovskyi are most commonly found 

 in tree holes but have also been collected frequently in coconut shells, 

 and a few times in bamboo stubble and in sago-palm leaf -axis. Not 

 infrequently they occur in tin cans, oil drums, and various other arti- 

 ficial containers. Usually the breeding places are in fairly densely 

 shaded jungle areas, but at times they are out in the open sun. Two 

 collections were recorded from sunny beach areas, one in a hole in a 

 pandanus, another in a shell scar in a coconut tree. The majority of 

 tree-hole collections were made in jungle swamp areas. In such tree 

 holes the water is usually highly colored with organic acids but is clear. 

 In sago palms the water may contain a large amomit of a viscous fluid. 

 In tin cans and other artificial containers the amount of organic matter 

 present is frequently very high. Old coconut shells without a trace of 

 decaying meat are favored by this species. T. lipovshyi breeds 

 throughout the year. Its aquatic cycle is much longer than that of 

 other culicines and appears to be about the same length as that of 

 other Tripteroides. The larvae have the same habit of resting on 

 their backs as other species of this genus. 



In the field the larvae are readily separated from all other species, 

 except soloinonis, by their short stubby bodies which are densely cov- 

 ered with black spines. They can usually be distinguished from 

 solomonis by the darker, better developed stellate tufts and even shorter 

 bodies. In tree holes, in particular, and in other natural breeding 

 places, a deep purplish-red pigment is deposited in the fat bodies, 

 imparting a very characteristic dark-red color to the larvae. 



The adults seldom bite man, but they have been noted on several 

 occasions attempting to feed on collectors in the daytime in forested 

 swamp areas. They can be found resting on the buttresses of large 

 trees in the jungle and have also been observed in open coconut shells. 

 No specimens of this species were ever collected in routine night hand- 

 catches on Guadalcanal. 



T. lipovskyi has been found associated with practically every species 

 that inhabits tree holes and artificial containers in localities where it 

 occurs. T. solomonis (Edwards), Aedes alhildbris Edwards, A. 

 albolineatus (Theobald), C'wZea? {Lophoceraomyia) sp., Oulex {Culic- 

 iomyia) papuensis-grouip, and pullus-group are frequently found with 

 this species, and C. {Lutzia) halifaxii (Theobald) was found with it 

 once. In bamboo stubble T. solomonis (Edwards), T. stonei, and A. 

 albolineatus (Theobald) were found together with lipovskyi. In coco- 



