THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 103 



in which, through the efforts of the stationmaster at Little River, 

 the authorities had kindly provided a special carriage, which 

 unfortunately owing to a misunderstanding was not made use of. 

 After several delays, owing to the great holiday traffic, Melbourne 

 was reached about 9 o'clock, and, before breaking up, everybody 

 "expressed themselves pleased with the outing. 



Before leaving the mount, bunches of prostanthera were 

 ga hered as trophies to show our town friends, and on the way to 

 the station several other plants were noticed, such as Ptilotiis 

 spathulatus, like a feathery bottle-brush, Diuris stdjohtirea, 

 Fimelia curviflora, and Selagmella Preissiana. Birds were not 

 numerous ; parrakeets, tree-creepers, and wattle-birds being the 

 principal kinds seen. The mountains were, years ago, the 

 residence of thousands of rabbits, but they seem now to have 

 .been got rid of, and a worse pest, foxes, are taking their places. 



MOSQUITOES. 

 By P. H. Anderson. 

 (Read before the Field Naturalist^ Club of Victoria, %th 

 November, i886.y 

 The family CulicidcE, universally known as mosquitoes or gnats, 

 ■contains many distinct species. The most common are Culex 

 Pipiens, the common gnat ; Culex Mosquito, the common mos- 

 quito ; Culex Zancudo, a larger species with dark blue wings, 

 inhabiting Africa generally ; Culex Teinpraneo ; Culex Zejeu, a 

 small quite diurnal species ; Culex Simulium, and many more 

 rare species. 



These insects are to be met with in almost every country of 

 the globe ; difference in climate or food appears to have no 

 influence over them, for whilst they swarm in myriads in all 

 tropical countries, yet the poor Laplander condemns himself to 

 be smoked all day, and only frees himself from the onslaughts 

 of this insect by smearing his whole body with a filthy coating 

 of grease and tar. 



"They are our declared enemy," says Reaumur'^', "and a 

 very troublesome enemy it is ; however, it is well to make their 

 acquaintance, for if we pay a little attention, we shall be forced 

 to admire, and even to admire the instrument with which it 

 wounds us. Besides which, throughout the whole course of its 

 life, it affords most interesting matter of investigation to those 

 who are curious to know the wonders of Nature." 



During a period of its life, the observer, forgetting that it 

 will at some time annoy him, feels the greatest interest in its 

 history. To watch the mother mosquito laying her eggs is most 

 interesting, and is a wonderful illustration of a mother's care 



* Memoires pour Servir a I'Histoire des Insectes. 



