﻿^20 
  PEOCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOTTUTH 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  MEETING 
  

  

  this 
  is 
  easily 
  done 
  in 
  the 
  hot 
  weather, 
  when 
  mosquitos 
  mostly 
  seek 
  

   refuge 
  in 
  houses 
  in 
  the 
  daytime, 
  by 
  placing 
  the 
  inner 
  box 
  on 
  the 
  bare 
  

   ground 
  in 
  the 
  blazing 
  sun. 
  In 
  really 
  hot 
  dry 
  weather 
  the 
  mosquitos 
  are 
  

   all 
  killed 
  within 
  a 
  few 
  minutes. 
  When 
  the 
  air 
  is 
  damp, 
  this 
  is 
  not 
  so 
  

   successful, 
  but 
  every 
  ant 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  hastens 
  to 
  the 
  feast, 
  gets 
  inside 
  

   through 
  the 
  mosquito 
  net, 
  and 
  the 
  mosquitos 
  rarely 
  survive 
  for 
  very 
  

   long. 
  In 
  the 
  last 
  resort, 
  as 
  in 
  very 
  wet 
  weather, 
  a 
  little 
  benzine 
  or 
  

   petrol 
  may 
  be 
  poured 
  into 
  the 
  trap 
  (both 
  boxes) 
  and 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  cardboard 
  

   laid 
  over 
  the 
  top 
  to 
  keep 
  in 
  the 
  fumes. 
  This 
  type 
  of 
  trap 
  has 
  been 
  tried 
  

   at 
  Pusa 
  and 
  at 
  Nagpur 
  with 
  considerable 
  success. 
  

  

  Both 
  these 
  types 
  of 
  trap 
  possess 
  one 
  common 
  disadvantage 
  in 
  that 
  

   they 
  require 
  the 
  human 
  element 
  to 
  look 
  after 
  them, 
  reset 
  them 
  over- 
  

   night 
  and 
  deal 
  with 
  the 
  captures 
  daily. 
  It 
  would 
  be 
  a 
  great 
  advantage 
  

   if 
  we 
  could 
  have 
  a 
  purely 
  mechanical 
  trap 
  which 
  would 
  catch 
  mosquitos 
  

   regularly 
  without 
  needing 
  daily 
  attention.* 
  This 
  is 
  a 
  line 
  on 
  which 
  I 
  

   have 
  made 
  experiments 
  and, 
  although 
  these 
  have 
  so 
  far 
  not 
  been 
  very 
  

   successful, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  useful 
  to 
  give 
  some 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  line 
  on 
  which 
  I 
  

   have 
  worked 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  a 
  successful 
  trap 
  could 
  be 
  evolved 
  

   on 
  this 
  principle. 
  I 
  took 
  a 
  long 
  box 
  and 
  fixed 
  inside 
  it 
  glass 
  strips, 
  

   stretching 
  from 
  side 
  to 
  side, 
  as 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  section 
  of 
  the 
  box 
  

   (Plate 
  XXXIX, 
  figure 
  2e), 
  one 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  box 
  being 
  of 
  course 
  open 
  ; 
  

   the 
  other 
  end 
  is 
  provided 
  with 
  a 
  sliding 
  trap-door, 
  as 
  shown 
  in 
  detail 
  

   in 
  Plate 
  XXXIX, 
  figures 
  2a-c. 
  The 
  complete 
  box, 
  seen 
  from 
  the 
  open 
  

   end, 
  is 
  shown 
  in 
  figure 
  2d. 
  The 
  inside 
  of 
  the 
  box 
  is 
  painted 
  black. 
  

   My 
  idea 
  was 
  that 
  the 
  mosquitos, 
  when 
  looking 
  for 
  a 
  suitable 
  dark 
  place 
  

   in 
  which 
  to 
  spend 
  the 
  day, 
  would 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  find 
  their 
  way 
  inside 
  the 
  

   box 
  past 
  the 
  glass 
  strips, 
  which 
  slope 
  inwards, 
  but 
  that 
  these 
  strips 
  

   would 
  prevent 
  their 
  exit 
  ; 
  they 
  would 
  thus 
  stop 
  in 
  the 
  box 
  until 
  they 
  

   died, 
  the 
  accumulated 
  corpses 
  being 
  removed 
  occasionally 
  through 
  the 
  

   trap-hatch. 
  However, 
  in 
  practice 
  this 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  very 
  successful 
  so 
  

   far. 
  Possibly 
  a 
  little 
  variation 
  in 
  the 
  position 
  or 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  glass 
  

   strips 
  might 
  make 
  it 
  quite 
  effective. 
  Another 
  design, 
  which 
  has 
  not 
  

   yet 
  been 
  tried, 
  is 
  seen 
  in 
  Plate 
  XXXIX, 
  figure 
  2/, 
  in 
  which 
  also 
  the 
  

   idea 
  is 
  that 
  mosquitos 
  may 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  find 
  their 
  way 
  in 
  but 
  be 
  unable 
  

   to 
  discover 
  the 
  means 
  of 
  egress. 
  

  

  Should 
  it 
  be 
  possible 
  to 
  secure 
  a 
  mechanical 
  trap 
  on 
  these 
  lines, 
  

   it 
  would 
  be 
  useful 
  in 
  the 
  reduction 
  of 
  domestic 
  mosquitos 
  in 
  houses, 
  

   as 
  it 
  would 
  only 
  require 
  to 
  be 
  placed 
  in 
  a 
  suitable 
  position 
  and 
  left 
  there 
  

   practically 
  without 
  attention. 
  

  

  The 
  ordinary 
  form 
  of 
  box-trap, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  added, 
  is 
  also 
  likely 
  to 
  

   be 
  of 
  considerable 
  use 
  in 
  the 
  prosecution 
  of 
  regular 
  mosquito 
  survey- 
  

   work. 
  

  

  