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THE MOSQUITOES 



the male from the female. If the antennae have not been torn off, this can be decided 

 by the highly adorned plumose antennae of the male, those of the female being 

 sparsely decorated with short hairs. The palpi of the Anophelinae tend to be 

 clubbed, while those of the Culex are straight. If the antennae have been broken off, 

 look for the claspers at the end of the abdomen. 



Male mosquitoes do not feed on blood but on fruits and flowers in- 

 stead. The puncturing parts of the male are not sufficiently resistant 

 to penetrate the skin. 



Having determined that the insect is a female, we then proceed to place it either 

 in the subfamily Culicinae or Anophelinae by a study of the relative length of the 

 palpi to the proboscis. If the palpi are shorter than the proboscis, it belongs to the 

 Culicinae; if as long or longer, to the Anophelinae. The palpi of the female 

 Megarhininae are also long, but the proboscis is curved. 



Having settled on the subfamily, we separate the genera by con- 

 sidering such points as character and distribution of scales on back of 

 head, wings, thorax, and abdomen ; banding of proboscis, legs, abdomen, 

 and thorax, shape of scales on wings, and location of cross veins. 



FIG. 96. Resting posture of mosquitoes: i and 2, Anopheles; 3 Culex pipienes. 

 (After Sambon.) From P. H. Reports. 



Anophelinae show abundant upright forked scales on occiput. The mesothorax 

 shows sparse hairs or scales with a smooth scutellum. As a rule, the wings are spotted 

 (dappled) and the location of these spots give the best clue to the different species of 

 the genera. With the exception of Bironella the first submarginal cell is large. This 

 cell is longer than the second posterior one. 



In the resting position Culex allows the abdomen to droop, so that it is parallel 

 to the wall. The angle formed by the abdomen with head and proboscis gives a 

 hunchback appearance. 



Anopheles when resting on a wall goes out in a straight line at an angle of about 

 45. It resembles a bradawl. 



Classification 



There are four subfamilies of Culicidae, differentiated according to 

 the palpi: 



