80 MORE MINOR HORRORS 



not seem to be able to stand more than forty- 

 eight hours of drought. There is no evidence 

 that they can survive throughout the winter 

 period. Everything that we know indicates 

 that the egg must pass this period within the 

 mother's body, and that they only attain 

 maturity in early spring, when the weather 

 becomes warmer. 



The larva of the mosquito is one of 

 the most fascinating objects one can watch 

 under the microscope. It is very complex, 

 and consists of the usual arthropod regions 

 of (1) the head, (2) the thorax, and (3) the 

 abdomen. 



Without going into the question of how 

 many typical somites make up the head, 

 we must state that the thorax has the typical 

 number of three, much fused together, and 

 the abdomen nine. The first seven of these 

 are very much alike ; the eighth, however, 

 bears the large stigmata or orifices of the 

 breathing system, and the ninth a number 

 of beautifully arranged hairs, by means of 

 which the larva to a great extent steers 

 itself. The head resembles two-thirds of a 

 sphere, and is covered with a complete and 

 clearly defined brown, chitinous case. The 

 eyes are lateral, and on each side we have 

 both a simple and a compound eye. In front 

 of each eye is a little protuberance, which 



