IMPORTANT CLASSES OF INSECTS 207 
eight to ten generations or even more in a season. Most 
of the adults of each generation probably die in a few days 
or a few weeks after eggs are laid, but some of those pro- 
duced in the fall live over the winter in quarters that are warm 
enough to keep them more or less active. The few females 
that survive in this way 
lay the eggs in the spring 
for the season’s first brood. 
Mosquitoes lay their 
eggs in a boat-shaped mass 
on the water. The larve, 
called wrigglers, hatch out 
in a few days. When at 
rest, they are at the sur- 
face of the water, head 
downward, to get air, as 
the opening to the breath- 
ing tubes is situated near 
the end of the abdomen. 
The pupa, which is but 
slightly different from the 
larva, lives for only about 
two days, then comes to 
the surface of the water, 
the skin bursts open, and 
the adult appears. This 
. new creature is not able 
to live in the water as his 
Lire History oF THE Mosquito 
a, Raft of eggs; b, Eggs enlarged; 
c, Larve or wrigglers; d and e are 
larve enlarged; f, Pupa; g and / are 
females; i is a male. 
former self could an hour before, and as he sits upon the 
cast-off skin to dry his wings, he is apt to topple over into 
the water and perish. We are inclined to wish that the whole 
race might be shipwrecked some stormy day. 
