INSECTS AND WAR 25 



played a conspicuous part in the destruction 

 of the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome. 



The female is very voracious, but the mouth 

 parts of the male are not strong enough to pene- 

 trate the human skin ; the male has to be content 

 with a diet of vegetable juice. But the female 

 will suck up blood till all the cracks between its 

 chitinous armour are incarnadined. It is thought 

 by some that no eggs are laid unless a meal of 

 blood has been taken. This, however, does not 

 seem to have been definitely established. 



Anopheles maculipennis is the chief carrier of 

 malaria, and is found very widely distributed 

 throughout the world. As a rule individuals do 

 not wander very far on their own account but 

 they can be blown considerable distances by a 

 wind, and they have a habit of travelling about 

 in trains and ships, but not, perhaps, to the same 

 extent as Stegomyia calopus, which conveys the 

 yellow-fever. The female hibernates through- 

 out the winter, and is common under the frozen 

 snows of Siberia, mingled with the moss and 

 snow. In England they are frequently found 

 in old out-houses, deserted cellars, and unused 

 farm buildings. They have generally left their 

 winter quarters by May, when they begin to lay 



