42 NEW ZEALAND ENTOMOLOGY. 



so called. Their locomotion, although in some cases un- 

 questionably rapid, is entirely effected by violent motions 

 of the abdomen. I have been careful to point out these 

 peculiarities as these animals have been regarded by 

 many authors as active pupae on a level with those of the 

 Orthoptera and Hemiptera. This opinion, however, is 

 manifestly erroneous ; the pupae of the nemocerous 

 Diptera are on precisely the same footing as those of the 

 Lepidoptera, and it would be almost as reasonable to call 

 one of these active, because it wriggles out of its cocoon in 

 the earth before the emergence of the moth. The perfect 

 mosquito emerges from a rent in the thoracic shield of the 

 pupa, drawing each pair of legs out separately, and placing 

 them in front of it on the water ; the wings and abdomen 

 are then extracted and in a few moments it flies away. 



The bites of these insects appear to distress some 

 people much more than others, probably owing to constitu- 

 tional differences. I should mention that the females 

 alone engage in these attacks, the males being quite 

 harmless and subsisting entirely on honey, which is doubt- 

 less the natural food of both sexes. The male and female 

 mosquito are readily distinguished, the specimen figured 

 belonging to the latter sex ; her companion is chiefly 

 remarkable for his plumed antennae and beautiful palpi, 

 which are very long and gracefully plumed. As many of 

 the harmless insects which will be investigated are often 

 mistaken for this species, and destroyed accordingly, I 

 should like to advise my readers that they may at once 

 distinguish all the venomous species of gnats by their long, 

 lancet-like proboscis and loud humming noise during flight. 



Closely allied to this insect is Culex argyropus, which 

 might be called the coast mosquito as it is always found 

 near the seashore, its larva living in brackish pools 

 just above high-water mark. The perfect insect may be 

 also seen skating along the surface of the water like a 



