﻿323 
  

  

  NOTES 
  ON 
  SOME 
  CULICIDAE 
  COLLECTED 
  IN 
  LOWER 
  MESOPOTAMIA. 
  

  

  By 
  Lieut. 
  P. 
  J. 
  Barraud, 
  R.A.M.C. 
  

  

  From 
  October 
  1918 
  to 
  February 
  1919 
  inclusive 
  I 
  was 
  stationed 
  at 
  Basrah, 
  

   Lower 
  Mesopotamia, 
  and 
  during 
  that 
  time 
  I 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  devote 
  some 
  time 
  to 
  the 
  

   collecting 
  of 
  Culicidae 
  and 
  their 
  larvae. 
  

  

  My 
  investigations 
  were 
  necessarily 
  confined 
  to 
  a 
  somewhat 
  restricted 
  area, 
  

   possibly 
  five 
  miles 
  from 
  north 
  to 
  south, 
  and 
  one 
  mile 
  wide, 
  embracing 
  the 
  districts 
  

   known 
  as 
  Ashar, 
  Makina, 
  and 
  Magil, 
  along 
  the 
  right 
  bank 
  of 
  the 
  Shatt-el-Arab 
  

   river. 
  Some 
  collecting 
  was 
  also 
  done 
  on 
  the 
  left 
  bank 
  from 
  Tonooma, 
  opposite 
  

   Ashar, 
  northwards. 
  Practically 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  this 
  ground 
  is 
  within 
  the 
  cultivated 
  

   belt 
  lying 
  between 
  the 
  river 
  banks 
  and 
  the 
  desert, 
  and 
  is 
  intersected 
  by 
  numerous 
  

   creeks, 
  and 
  irrigation 
  canals. 
  There 
  were 
  also 
  in 
  some 
  places 
  many 
  pools 
  and 
  

   swampy 
  areas 
  forming 
  good 
  collecting 
  ground. 
  

  

  The 
  wet 
  season 
  commenced 
  towards 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  November 
  and 
  continued 
  to 
  the 
  

   end 
  of 
  my 
  stay, 
  but 
  the 
  rainfall 
  was 
  intermittent 
  and 
  not 
  considerable 
  in 
  amount. 
  

   In 
  December 
  there 
  were 
  several 
  violent 
  storms 
  with 
  heavy 
  rain 
  for 
  a 
  time. 
  

  

  From 
  official 
  temperature 
  records 
  I 
  made 
  the 
  following 
  notes 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  October 
  1918. 
  — 
  Maximum 
  shade 
  temperature 
  between 
  102°F. 
  (5th 
  and 
  7th) 
  and 
  

   88°F. 
  (23rd 
  and 
  30th). 
  Minimum 
  shade 
  between 
  75 
  (5th) 
  and 
  57 
  (24th). 
  

  

  November 
  1918. 
  — 
  Maximum 
  shade 
  between 
  89 
  (3rd, 
  6th 
  and 
  7th) 
  and 
  69 
  (9th). 
  

   Minimum 
  shade 
  between 
  63 
  (7th) 
  and 
  49 
  (several 
  days 
  in 
  the 
  last 
  week). 
  

  

  December 
  (up 
  to 
  22nd, 
  beyond 
  which 
  date 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  records). 
  — 
  Maximum 
  shade 
  

   between 
  76 
  (1st) 
  and 
  60 
  (10th, 
  11th 
  and 
  12th). 
  Minimum 
  shade 
  between 
  60 
  (17th) 
  

   and 
  38 
  (13th). 
  

  

  There 
  was 
  no 
  frost 
  or 
  snow 
  throughout 
  the 
  winter. 
  

  

  The 
  " 
  main 
  river 
  " 
  referred 
  to 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  notes 
  is 
  the 
  Shatt-el-Arab, 
  formed 
  

   by 
  the 
  junction 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  months 
  of 
  the 
  Euphrates 
  and 
  the 
  Tigris, 
  about 
  five 
  

   miles 
  north 
  of 
  Ashar. 
  

  

  I 
  am 
  much 
  indebted 
  to 
  Dr. 
  Guy 
  A. 
  K. 
  Marshall, 
  Imperial 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Entomology, 
  

   and 
  Mr. 
  F. 
  W. 
  Edwards 
  for 
  kind 
  assistance 
  in 
  the 
  working 
  out 
  of 
  my 
  material 
  ; 
  

   to 
  Major 
  S. 
  R 
  Christophers, 
  I.M.S., 
  for 
  giving 
  me 
  facilities 
  and 
  help 
  in 
  my 
  work 
  

   at 
  Basrah 
  ; 
  and 
  to 
  Capt. 
  H. 
  E. 
  Shortt, 
  I.M.S., 
  for 
  his 
  valued 
  companionship 
  on 
  many 
  

   a 
  delightful 
  excursion. 
  

  

  Anopheles 
  stephensi, 
  Liston. 
  

  

  This 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  chief 
  malaria 
  carrier 
  of 
  the 
  district 
  and 
  bred 
  continuously 
  

   during 
  the 
  time 
  I 
  was 
  at 
  Basrah. 
  Numbers 
  of 
  adults 
  and 
  larvae 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  

   October, 
  November 
  and 
  December. 
  

  

  The 
  larvae 
  occur 
  chiefly 
  in 
  the 
  clearer 
  pools 
  in 
  the 
  cultivated 
  area. 
  On 
  14th 
  

   January 
  1919 
  I 
  found 
  about 
  one 
  hundred 
  larvae 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  pool 
  near 
  Ashar, 
  many 
  

   of 
  them 
  full-grown. 
  Adults 
  were 
  bred 
  out 
  in 
  the 
  laboratory 
  during 
  the 
  following 
  

   ten 
  days. 
  In 
  February 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  larvae 
  were 
  found. 
  

   (637) 
  h 
  

  

  