238 BANKS. 



they having scooped out the larvae and brought them a half mile to the house where 

 I was working, as I had promised a reward of 1 centavo ($0,005) for each larva 

 captured. 



June 21: Ten larvie were taken from a large bamboo fence post, and two from 

 each of two other posts. 



June 24: The larvae began pupating. 



June 28: The receptacle was transported 18 miles to the coast where I was 

 to embark. 



June 29 : Adults began emerging. 



Julj' 1 : All larvae had transformed to pupae. 



Jul}' 6 : The last adults emerged in Iloilo. 



The total number of adults was twenty-four and of this number five were saved 

 for breeding, including tAvo females and three males. The remainder, some of 

 which had been slightly damaged, were killed and pinned. 



July 6: The insects copulated, the females hanging from the gauze cover of the 

 jar and the males clinging to the ventral part of the females' bodies. These 

 insects were fed upon bananas which they relished greatly, refusing all other 

 kinds of food, including sirups which they seenied to shun. 



July 7 : One female died. 



July 8 : One male died. 



July 10: The three remaining insects, two males and one female, were placed 

 in a large glass jar containing a bamboo joint half full of water. 



July 11: The two remaining males died. 



July 12 : The female began laying eggs, continuing until July 13, the total 

 number being about fifty. 



Jul J' 14: The eggs began hatching and continued to do so until July 15. 



Many of the larvae died from lack of food and only four were saved, as was 

 stated above. 



July 14: The female died and sank to the bottom of the bamboo joint where 

 she was found on the morning of July 15. 



The life of these four larvae has been given above. 



HABITS OF THE LABV.E. 



The larva? of W. grata Banks remain in almost a horizontal position 

 upon the surface of the water, only going below when piursuing their prey 

 or when disturbed. Wlien chasing other mosquito larvae, they move di- 

 rectly forward by a snake-like wriggling which is very slow and stealthy. 

 Wlien they have approached within reaching distance, they make a quick 

 forward dart and seldom fail to capture their prey. They frequently 

 take other larva wliich have just come to the surface, by simply twisting 

 tlie body and making a straight lunge for the unsuspecting victim ; once 

 they have caught a larva, they begin eating and do not pause until they 

 have consumed the entire carcass. Sometimes they begin at the head 

 or in the middle, but most frequently they eat from the tail and forward 

 while the captive still moves. When at rest in a bamboo joint, they 

 remain anchored to the sides by the caudal setae, their heads pointing 

 toward the center. 



Larvae, when living under conditions in wliich they can obtain an abun- 

 dance of food, eat such large quantities tliat they grow ver}' fat, and some 



