The head, thorax, abdomen, and wings 



addition to definite bands a few white scaled patches may be present 

 on one or more segments of the palpi as in A. maculipalpis and A. 

 stephensi. Passing on to the examination of the head, the characters 

 of the different groups of scales will be noted, and in particular the 

 characters of the upright forked scales can be readily made out. In 

 most species of " anopheles " a prominent tuft of white hairs project- 

 ing forwards from the anterior end of the head will be seen. The 

 thorax will next be examined, and on its dorsal surface a large 

 number of scales and a few hairs will probably be present. The 

 characters of these scales and hairs are of importance in identifica- 

 tion and should be carefully described. Passing on towards the 

 abdomen, the scutellum will be examined. In addition to the long 

 bristles which will be readily seen attached to its border, the scutel- 

 lum sometimes carries a few scales similar to those on the thorax. 

 The bare horse-shoe shaped metanotum will next be seen, and then 

 the halteres, the knobs of which are sometimes clothed with numer- 

 ous small silvery scales. 



The examination of the abdomen is of great importance. In 

 many species, although the abdomen is thickly covered with long 

 hairs, no scales are present. In some species, however, it will be 

 seen that in addition to the hairs covering the majority of the 

 segments, a few golden-brown or dark-coloured scales can be made 

 out, especially on the ventral surface of the last one or two segments 

 only. In other species, again, it will be at once seen that the whole 

 surface of the abdomen is thickly set with white or golden brown 

 scales, which in some species are very broad (as in A. pulcherrimus), 

 and in others more or less spindle -shaped (as in A. stephensi). It 

 will readily be recognised that the presence or absence and the 

 character of these abdominal scales is a very important aid in the 

 determination of species. 



The wings and legs will next be examined. 



The most useful way of describing the wing markings is by 

 means of a diagrammatic drawing giving the number and relative 

 size and position of the different dark and light-scaled areas on each 

 vein. The detailed shape of the wing scales, which is a point of 

 some importance, and the relative position of the transverse veins 

 must be noted by a separate examination of a wing mounted under 

 a cover -glass. 



[29 



