﻿BREEDING-P1 
  M 
  KS 
  OF 
  THE 
  ANOPHELINES 
  01 
  MALAYA. 
  9 
  

  

  of 
  data 
  available, 
  such 
  as 
  have 
  been 
  quoted 
  as 
  to 
  A. 
  nautilus, 
  there 
  is 
  strong 
  presump- 
  

   tive 
  evidence 
  for 
  careful 
  selection 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  oi 
  A. 
  maculatus 
  that, 
  when 
  hard 
  pushed 
  

   for 
  favoured 
  breeding-places, 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  avail 
  itself 
  of 
  other 
  collections 
  of 
  

   water. 
  The 
  water 
  which 
  formerly 
  stagnated 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  ravines 
  round 
  Federal 
  Hill 
  

   and 
  Carcosa 
  in 
  Kuala 
  Lampur 
  at 
  one 
  time 
  swarmed 
  with 
  larvae 
  of 
  A. 
  mactdattts, 
  

   which 
  have 
  now 
  almost 
  been 
  eradicated 
  through 
  the 
  application 
  of 
  engineering 
  science 
  

   (subsoil 
  pipes, 
  open 
  concrete 
  drains, 
  etc., 
  most 
  judiciously 
  laid) 
  to 
  entomological 
  

   observation. 
  But 
  though 
  the 
  species 
  must 
  here 
  be 
  very 
  hard 
  pushed 
  for 
  breeding- 
  

   places, 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  still 
  to 
  show 
  its 
  marked 
  preference 
  for 
  such 
  a 
  type 
  of 
  breeding- 
  

   place 
  by 
  depositing 
  its 
  ova 
  at 
  any 
  point 
  in 
  the 
  drains 
  where 
  any 
  little 
  temporary 
  

   deficiency 
  of 
  the 
  work, 
  even 
  a 
  mere 
  fissure 
  in 
  the 
  cement, 
  affords 
  water 
  sufficiently 
  

   Still. 
  The 
  Anopheline 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  select 
  other 
  possible 
  breeding-places. 
  Though 
  

   a 
  large 
  sheet 
  of 
  open 
  water 
  is 
  available, 
  the 
  writer 
  found 
  on 
  one 
  occasion 
  only 
  two 
  or 
  

   three 
  of 
  these 
  larvae 
  in 
  it 
  and, 
  though 
  under 
  his 
  direction 
  an 
  examination 
  was 
  made 
  of 
  

   numerous 
  possible 
  breeding-places 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhood, 
  which 
  afforded 
  avast 
  number 
  

   of 
  Stegomyia, 
  in 
  no 
  single 
  instance 
  was 
  maculatus 
  obtained. 
  

  

  It 
  is, 
  therefore, 
  at 
  least 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  larvae 
  of 
  A. 
  fidigmosus, 
  

   found 
  in 
  large 
  numbers 
  in 
  almost 
  pure 
  culture 
  in 
  a 
  pond 
  near 
  Kuala 
  Lampur, 
  was 
  

   due 
  to 
  careful 
  parental 
  selection, 
  149 
  being 
  obtained 
  on 
  one 
  occasion 
  with 
  one 
  of 
  

   .4. 
  hyrcanus 
  ; 
  and 
  100 
  more, 
  six 
  days 
  later, 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  place. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Malcolm 
  Watson 
  related 
  to 
  the 
  writer 
  how, 
  many 
  years 
  ago, 
  when 
  a 
  road 
  was 
  

   cut 
  through 
  a 
  hill 
  at 
  Klang.hemade 
  search 
  for 
  Anopheline 
  larvae 
  in 
  the 
  springs 
  exposed. 
  

   In 
  one 
  only 
  did 
  he 
  rind 
  them, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  a 
  cow 
  had 
  deposited 
  manure. 
  The 
  larvae 
  

   were 
  those' 
  of 
  A. 
  vagus 
  and 
  they 
  were 
  of 
  all 
  sizes. 
  This 
  experience 
  was 
  parallelled 
  by 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  writer's, 
  for 
  in 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  a 
  search 
  for 
  larvae 
  of 
  this 
  species, 
  in 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  

   cart 
  ruts 
  and 
  hoof 
  prints, 
  in 
  only 
  three 
  out 
  of 
  about 
  a 
  dozen 
  were 
  they 
  found. 
  The 
  

   larvae 
  were 
  those 
  of 
  A. 
  vagus 
  in 
  considerable 
  numbers 
  and 
  of 
  various 
  sizes, 
  so, 
  most 
  

   probably 
  (though 
  not 
  necessarily, 
  since 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  a 
  larva 
  is 
  not 
  always 
  a 
  guide 
  to 
  its 
  

   age) 
  the 
  progeny 
  of 
  several 
  females. 
  

  

  Assuming 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  refined 
  selection 
  by 
  the 
  ovipositing 
  Anopheline, 
  what 
  are 
  

   the 
  influences 
  likely 
  to 
  guide 
  her 
  in 
  her 
  choice 
  ? 
  One 
  supposition 
  was 
  that 
  the 
  presence 
  

   of 
  already 
  existing 
  larvae 
  might 
  attract 
  the 
  female. 
  

  

  To 
  the 
  naturalist, 
  acquainted 
  with 
  instances 
  of 
  far 
  more 
  delicate 
  perceptions 
  on 
  

   the 
  part 
  of 
  insects 
  than 
  would 
  be 
  called 
  for 
  in 
  the 
  detection 
  by 
  an 
  Anopheline 
  of 
  the 
  

   larvae 
  of 
  its 
  own 
  species, 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  difficulty 
  at 
  all 
  in 
  supposing 
  that 
  a 
  female 
  A 
  . 
  vagus, 
  

   for 
  instance, 
  having 
  discovered 
  the 
  few 
  small 
  pools 
  from 
  which 
  were 
  taken 
  on 
  18th 
  

   August 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  250 
  larvae 
  of 
  her 
  own 
  species, 
  95 
  others 
  too 
  small 
  to 
  be 
  classified 
  

   with 
  certainty 
  and 
  49 
  pupae 
  probably 
  of 
  this 
  species, 
  might 
  well 
  be 
  influenced 
  in 
  her 
  

   decision 
  to 
  oviposit 
  by 
  the 
  evidence 
  of 
  conditions 
  so 
  auspicious 
  to 
  the 
  offspring 
  of 
  

   others 
  ; 
  and 
  that 
  a 
  pregnant 
  A 
  . 
  maculatus 
  might 
  be 
  similarly 
  influenced 
  on 
  arriving 
  

   at 
  a 
  grassy 
  drain 
  from 
  the 
  water 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  readily 
  collected, 
  on 
  21st 
  July, 
  283 
  

   of 
  these 
  larvae, 
  on 
  30th 
  July 
  222, 
  on 
  28th 
  July 
  183, 
  and 
  on 
  4th 
  August 
  126, 
  with 
  a 
  

   considerable 
  number 
  of 
  pupae 
  on 
  each 
  occasion. 
  

  

  It 
  seemed 
  as 
  if 
  the 
  point 
  might 
  readily 
  be 
  settled 
  by 
  affording 
  captive 
  mosquitos 
  

   the 
  alternative 
  opportunity 
  of 
  ovipositing 
  on 
  plain 
  tap 
  water, 
  and 
  tap 
  water 
  containing 
  

   larvae 
  corresponding 
  to 
  the 
  species 
  experimented 
  with. 
  This 
  was 
  attempted, 
  two 
  

   bowls 
  of 
  plain 
  water 
  and 
  one 
  containing 
  the 
  larvae 
  being 
  supplied, 
  in 
  a 
  long 
  series 
  

   of 
  experiments, 
  to 
  ovipositing 
  females 
  of 
  various 
  species. 
  No 
  predilections 
  by 
  the 
  

   female 
  parents 
  were 
  discovered 
  for 
  the 
  bowls 
  containing 
  the 
  larvae, 
  the 
  greater 
  

   number 
  of 
  the 
  batches 
  of 
  ova 
  being 
  deposited 
  on 
  the 
  plain 
  water. 
  

  

  Had 
  positive 
  results 
  been 
  obtained, 
  they 
  would 
  have 
  afforded 
  useful 
  data, 
  but 
  it 
  

   was 
  impossible 
  to 
  make 
  such 
  an 
  experiment 
  under 
  perfectly 
  natural 
  conditions. 
  The 
  

   mosquitos, 
  though 
  carefully 
  fed 
  and 
  screened 
  from 
  an 
  undue 
  amount 
  of 
  light 
  during 
  

   the 
  day, 
  bore 
  captivity 
  hardlv, 
  injuring 
  themselves 
  in 
  their 
  almost 
  constant 
  endeavour 
  

  

  