240 BANKS. 



They fed freely upon soft banana and jjineapple and a female was 

 observed drinking water from the vessel in which she was confined, but 

 they would not sip either plain or fruit syrups. 



As these experiments were tried at all hours of the day and in the 

 evening, they would seem to be fairly conclusive proof of the innocence 

 of this mosquito in regard to a habit of sucking blood. 



I have dissected the probosces of both male and female specimens and 

 while each shows a development of the labrum-epipharynx which might 

 suit it for piercing, the apices of the mandibles and maxilla are not 

 serrated, but are soft and thin and in no way adapted to piercing; while 

 the dorsal suture of the tube-like labium is so constructed as practically 

 to prohibit its separation, as in the case with biting mosquitoes when 

 the piercing organs have been inserted into the skin of the victim. In 

 other words, the labium is better adapted to sucking juices which lie 

 upon" the surface, while the sharpening of the labrima-epipharynx is 

 merely a morphological relic. 



The few specimens of this species which have been captured as adults 

 were invariably taken during the late afternoon, so that W. grata Banks 

 could not in all probability be classified as a day mosquito. 



As the larvse of this species destroy enonnous numbei's of those of 

 other mosquitoes, experiments looking toward their propagation would 

 be valuable. Their introduction into tanks and other receptacles where 

 mosquitoes breed, especially in gardens and dense coppices, might tend 

 to their greater abundance near dwellings; and even if they were to 

 attempt to attack man, their great size would render them sufficiently 

 conspicuous as to allow of their being easily driven off. However, I am 

 thoroughly convinced that the latter contingency would never arise. 

 (See Pis. II and III for male and female adults.) 



Desvoidta joloensis Ludlow. 



Desvoidea fusca joloensis Ludlow, Can. Ent. (1904), 3 6, 236. 



Desvoidya Banks, This Journal (1906), 1, 983. 



joloensis Theob., Blono. Culic. (1907), 4, 163, 165. 



This mosquito was found to be abundant during the months of April, 

 May and June, in upland villages surrounded by woods and bamboo 

 thickets. It has also been taken in Manila. 



Egg: The egg of this species is quite similar in general appearance to that 

 of Stegomyia persistans Banks, except that it is about one-ninth to one-eighth 

 longer and the sides are more nearly parallel. The ends are more obtusely 

 rounded. The sculpture of the air cells is nearly the same, except that the 

 hexagonal figures are not elongated transversely. It is 0.84 millimeter in length. 

 (PI. IV, fig. 1.) 



OVIPOSITION. 



A female of Desvoidya joloensis Ludl. was observed fllying around the 

 open bamboo cups of water upon the table in my temporary laboratory 

 at Mailum. The female entered one of these and was seen to crawl down 

 the side of the vessel backwards. When near the surface of the water, 



