Groups V, 



Observations. The breeding places of these mosquitoes deserve 

 special attention, for they are the most important malaria-carrying 

 anopheles and their larvae are generally overlooked by the so-called 

 " mosquito brigades." Paraffin oil, as a rule, will not affect them. 

 The little streamlets and irrigation canals in which they occur 

 are generally passed over with the remark " larvae could not 

 breed here, the water is flowing too rapidly." This certainly is 

 not the case ; in the little quiet eddies by the side of such streams 

 the Iarva3 can usually be taken after patient fishing with a 

 white saucer or net. Hardly any natural stream, because of the 

 side eddies and grassy edges, flows too rapidly to afford shelter 

 for these larvas. 



The three types we have described in this group are fairly 

 constant, but individuals are frequently met with, which possess some 

 of the characters of one type, some of another. Some of these 

 variations have been mentioned under the description of each type. 

 To this group belong the majority of the mosquitoes classed by Mr. 

 Theobald in his genus Myzomyia. In addition to the types we 

 have described, Theobald's albirostris, funesta, rhodexiensis and 

 leptomeres undoubtedly belong to this group. Some remarks have 

 already been made on the probable identity of some of these species 

 with the types we have described. 



GROUP VI. 



This group includes two very distinct species, viz., rossi and 

 stephensi, which have been classed together more on account of 

 their habits than because of any structural relation. Superficially 

 the two species very closely resemble one another, but structurally 

 they are very distinct. They are placed here because of their very 

 intimate connection with man, for they are never found far from 

 human habitations, and are, as a rule, the most common "anopheles" 

 found in India. They are typically "domestic" species, for they 

 are readily captured in almost any house in India at a suitable 

 season. But, despite these facts, they appear to play a very minor 

 part in the propagation of malaria. Large numbers, especially of 

 A. rossi, have been caught even in markedly infected houses (where 

 anopheles of group V were shown to be infected) and on dissec- 

 tion have been found to be uninfected. 



[71 



