﻿AFRICAN CULICTDAE, OTHER THAN ANOPHELES. 15 



belong to one of the other genera of the Aedes group, though in each case the 

 general appearance would seern to indicate an Ochlerotatus. Finlaya is perhaps 

 the most distinct of the various groups which have received generic names, owing 

 to the spotted wings and more or less tufted venter, but I have no hesitation in 

 placing it as a synonym of Ochlerotatus. In the type species of Finlaya 

 (F. poicilia, Theo.), the claws of the female were incorrectly described as simple; 

 they are really toothed on the fore and mid legs. 



Since writing in this periodical last October, I have seen specimens of what I 

 take to be Ochlerotatus albifasciatus (Macq.) Arrib., from Mendoza, Argentina 

 (G. Boag). This species is the type of the genus Ochlerotatus; the specimens 

 referred to appeared to belong to the same group as the European O. dorsalis. 



Even in Ochlerotatus there is some variation in the form of the male palpi. 

 The thickness of the two apical joints varies, and also their relative length as 

 compared with the basal joint. In one species (O. irritans) the palpi are distinctly 

 shorter than the proboscis, while in an Indian species they are only two-thirds as 

 long. In O. simulans and O. apicoannulalus the last two joints are scarcely at 

 all swollen, of about equal length and less hairy than usual. In spite of these 

 differences, and the great variation in scale characters, it has not been found 

 possible to split up the genus satisfactorily. In the majority of species the male 

 palpi conform rather closely to the type found in O. hirsutus (Bull. Ent. Res. II, 

 p. 249, fig. 1). 



Ochlerotatus differs from Aedes in having the male palpi elongate, about equal 

 in length to the proboscis ; and from Stegomyia in having the last two joints of 

 the S palpi more or less swollen, and with distinct hair tufts ; the penultimate 

 joint is a little longer and distinctly thicker than the terminal. There is 

 apparently no structural character by which the females of Aedes, Ochlerotatus, 

 and Stegomyia can be distinguished, and this lends support to the view held by 

 Dyar and Knab, that the three genera should all be merged into Aedes. The 

 difference in the males, however, is so striking, that it is difficult to see how they 

 can all be regarded as belonging to one genus. The three genera are here 

 treated as distinct, though it is recognised that they are much more closely 

 related among themselves than any of them are to the Culex and Taeniorhynchus 

 group. 



A complete table of the African species is given. The arrangement of those 

 species without flat scales on the scutellum has been altered, in order that they 

 may be tabulated, so far as possible, by characters easily observable with a hand- 

 lens. The structure of the hind claws is evidently of no great importance, and 

 not even trustworthy for specific distinctions ; Neveu-Lemaire in a large series 

 of S. sugens found some specimens with both hind claws simple, some with both 

 toothed, and some with one toothed and one simple. 



The statement previously made that Ochlerotatus is mainly a Palaearctic genus 

 is of course a complete error. 



Table of African Ochlerotatus. 



1. Hind tarsi with at least one white band ... ... ... ... 2. 



Hind tarsi entirely dark ... ... ... ... ... ... 13. 



