THE MOSQUITO 43 



dances in the air, far surpassing in grace and 

 agility anything seen in the Russian ballet. 

 But biting is the dominating note of a mos- 

 quito, and we may as well consider, to begin 

 with, how it bites. 



If we examine the head of a mosquito we 

 shall find that it is shaped like a circular 

 cushion bearing two enormous eyes — so large 

 that in the male they touch above the fore- 

 head and almost meet below the chin. Each 

 eye consists of hundreds of facets of a brilliant 

 green hue, set in a darkish background, like 

 emeralds arranged on a black surface. The 

 head also bears a quantity of hairs and flattened 

 scales whose number, shape, and arrangement 

 are of considerable systematic value. 



The following are the appendages of the 

 head : — 



1. A pair of antennae, which are markedly 

 different in the two sexes. 



2. A pair of mandibles. These are absent 

 in the male. 



3. A pair of first maxillae, each of which 

 has a jointed tactile palp. 



4. A pair of second maxillae which have 

 fused together to form a deeply grooved soft 

 process in which the other appendages lie. 



Beside these four pairs of appendages, 

 which are in reality modified limbs, there are 

 two median processes, which project one from 



