﻿130 
  F. 
  W. 
  EDWARDS. 
  

  

  Ochlerotatus 
  caspius, 
  Pallas. 
  

  

  Culex 
  caspius, 
  Pallas, 
  Keise 
  d. 
  Russ. 
  Reichs, 
  i, 
  p. 
  475 
  (1771). 
  

  

  Culex 
  dorsalis, 
  Theobald, 
  Mon. 
  Cul. 
  ii, 
  p. 
  16 
  (1901) 
  (? 
  nee 
  Meigen). 
  

  

  Grabhamia 
  dorsalis, 
  Theobald, 
  Mon. 
  Cul. 
  iii, 
  p. 
  251 
  (1903). 
  

  

  Grabhamia 
  subtilis, 
  Ed. 
  & 
  Et. 
  Sergent, 
  Bull. 
  Mus. 
  Paris, 
  xi, 
  p. 
  240 
  (1905). 
  

  

  Grabhamia 
  willeocksi, 
  Theobald, 
  Mon. 
  Cul. 
  iv, 
  p. 
  294 
  (1907). 
  

  

  Grabhamia 
  longisquumosa, 
  Theobald, 
  Ann. 
  Mus. 
  Nat. 
  Hung., 
  iii, 
  p. 
  102 
  (1905). 
  

  

  Mansonia 
  arabica, 
  Giles, 
  J. 
  Trop. 
  Med. 
  p. 
  130 
  (1906). 
  

  

  Culex 
  arabicus, 
  Becker, 
  Denkschr. 
  k. 
  Ak. 
  Wiss. 
  Wien, 
  lxxi, 
  p. 
  140 
  (1910). 
  

  

  ? 
  Culex 
  maculiventris, 
  Macquart, 
  Dipt. 
  Exot. 
  Supp. 
  i, 
  p. 
  7 
  (1846). 
  

  

  Culex 
  pulchripalpis, 
  Theobald, 
  Mon. 
  Cul. 
  ii, 
  p. 
  13 
  (1901) 
  (nee 
  Rondani). 
  

  

  Culex 
  penicillaris, 
  Rondani, 
  Bull. 
  Soc. 
  Ent. 
  Ital. 
  iv, 
  p. 
  31' 
  (1872) 
  ; 
  Ficalbi, 
  Bull. 
  

   Soc. 
  Ent. 
  Ital. 
  xxxi, 
  p. 
  160 
  (1869). 
  

  

  Recent 
  discoveries 
  (see 
  below, 
  under 
  0. 
  curriei) 
  make 
  it 
  appear 
  doubtful 
  whether 
  

   Meigen's 
  C. 
  dorsalis 
  has 
  been 
  correctly 
  determined 
  by 
  Theobald 
  and 
  others, 
  but 
  

   as 
  it 
  is 
  an 
  abundant 
  species 
  over 
  a 
  wide 
  area 
  of 
  Europe 
  and 
  Asia 
  it 
  is 
  desirable 
  to 
  

   find 
  a 
  name 
  for 
  it 
  which 
  is 
  not 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  upset, 
  and 
  I 
  believe 
  that 
  C. 
  caspius, 
  Pallas, 
  

   is 
  such 
  a 
  name. 
  Pallas' 
  original 
  description 
  is 
  of 
  course 
  short 
  and 
  vague, 
  but 
  as 
  

   he 
  states 
  that 
  the 
  species 
  was 
  abundant 
  and 
  very 
  vicious 
  in 
  the 
  marshes 
  near 
  Gruriev 
  

   (North 
  Caspian) 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  he 
  met 
  with 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  common 
  European 
  salt- 
  

   marsh 
  breeders. 
  The 
  salient 
  phrases 
  in 
  the 
  description, 
  " 
  Color 
  subgriseus, 
  thorace 
  

   cinereo-fasciato 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  pedes 
  subannulati 
  ' 
  : 
  would 
  seem 
  to 
  indicate 
  the 
  present 
  

   species 
  rather 
  than 
  0. 
  curriei, 
  while 
  definitely 
  excluding 
  0. 
  salinus. 
  Some 
  confirm- 
  

   ation 
  of 
  this 
  conclusion 
  has 
  recently 
  been 
  obtained 
  by 
  Capt. 
  P. 
  A. 
  Buxton's 
  discovery 
  

   of 
  O. 
  dorsalis, 
  Theo., 
  at 
  Resht, 
  South 
  Caspian. 
  Pallas' 
  statement 
  that 
  the 
  antennae 
  

   are 
  " 
  utrique 
  sexu 
  filiformes 
  " 
  may 
  be 
  safely 
  disregarded 
  ; 
  and 
  whatever 
  " 
  vaginae 
  

   multae 
  ' 
  ' 
  may 
  mean, 
  Theobald's 
  translation 
  of 
  ' 
  ' 
  sheath 
  of 
  proboscis 
  snowy 
  white 
  ' 
  

   has 
  obviously 
  no 
  justification 
  whatever. 
  

  

  Large 
  series 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  have 
  recently 
  been 
  received 
  at 
  the 
  British 
  Museum 
  

   from 
  Italy, 
  Macedonia, 
  Palestine, 
  Egypt 
  and 
  Mesopotamia, 
  which 
  show 
  every 
  

   gradation 
  in 
  the 
  variation 
  in 
  the 
  colour 
  of 
  the 
  abdominal 
  scales. 
  In 
  some 
  (as 
  in 
  

   most 
  British 
  specimens) 
  the 
  prevailing 
  colour 
  of 
  the 
  abdomen 
  is 
  black 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  

   majority 
  the 
  abdomen 
  has 
  pairs 
  of 
  black 
  spots 
  on 
  each 
  segment, 
  or 
  on 
  the 
  anterior 
  

   segments 
  ; 
  while 
  in 
  the 
  palest 
  the 
  black 
  is 
  entirely 
  absent, 
  leaving 
  only 
  the 
  ochreous 
  

   or 
  whitish 
  ochreous 
  ground-colour. 
  The 
  thoracic 
  coloration 
  varies 
  less 
  ; 
  the 
  two 
  

   white 
  longitudinal 
  fines 
  are 
  nearly 
  always 
  present, 
  though 
  sometimes 
  very 
  narrow 
  ;. 
  

   in 
  two 
  specimens 
  from 
  Italy, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  type 
  of 
  G. 
  longisquamosa, 
  they 
  are 
  absent, 
  

   the 
  mesonotum 
  then 
  being 
  uniformly 
  fawn-coloured. 
  The 
  amount 
  of 
  dark 
  scaling 
  

   on 
  the 
  wing 
  varies 
  very 
  considerably, 
  but 
  the 
  dark 
  scales 
  are 
  always 
  fairly 
  evenly 
  

   distributed. 
  No 
  variation 
  is 
  discernible 
  in 
  the 
  male 
  genitalia. 
  The 
  comb-scales 
  

   of 
  the 
  larvae 
  may 
  or 
  may 
  not 
  have 
  a 
  differentiated 
  terminal 
  spine, 
  a 
  variation 
  which 
  

   has 
  also 
  been 
  noted 
  by 
  Dyar 
  in 
  O. 
  curriei. 
  

  

  Ochlerotatus 
  caspius 
  var. 
  hargreavesi, 
  no 
  v. 
  

  

  Among 
  a 
  series 
  sent 
  from 
  Taranto, 
  Italy 
  (E. 
  Hargr 
  eaves), 
  are 
  six 
  females 
  which 
  

   have 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  central 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  mesonotum 
  covered 
  with 
  whitish 
  scales,. 
  

  

  