36 MOSQUITOES 



through the bites of mosquitoes, which seemed especially 

 attracted to these birds. 



To revert once more to the plant-feeding habit, j)ersons 

 engaged in the study of malarial relations of mosquitoes 

 have found that they feed readily upon fruit, and bananas 

 are a favored article of diet. Dr. John B. Smith, of llut- 

 gers College, informs me that he has seen males and 

 females of what is probably Cukx sollicitans attracted 

 by the blossoms of wild cherry, and appear to dig into 

 the centre of the blossom, at Anglesea, N. J. So abun- 

 dant were they that he captured hundreds by sweeping his 

 net over the blossoms. 



The male mosquito seems to be exclusively vegetarian 

 in its diet. The beak in this sex is weaker, and does not 

 seem fitted for the penetration of the skin of even a 

 tender-skinned animal. Its food it probably chiefly 

 gained by sipping exposed liquids. They are often 

 seen sucking at drops of water or molasses, or beer, or 

 wine. Dr. St. George Gray, of St. Lucia, British West 

 Indies, finds that down there he can almost daily catch 

 one or two males on the neck of a decanter, or in a wine- 

 glass that has just been used. He has made some inter- 

 esting observations on the intoxicating effect of Avine 

 upon the males. It appears from these observations and 

 the beer-drinking habit of the males, as observed by 

 Schwarz, that in any discussion of sex habits into which 

 the mosquito may be lugged as an example that blood- 

 thirstiness may exist in the female sex, this statement 

 may be offset by the fact that even with this creature the 

 male sex is the one that is prone to alcoholism. 



