DEINOCERITES CANCER 205 



middle J pecten of five teeth sparsely scattered to near middle; single tooth 

 furcate, the two branches of nearly equal length. Lateral comb of eighth seg- 

 ment a large patch of spines ; single spine with expanded tip, feathered at apex 

 with a row of subequal spinules. Anal segment longer than wide, with a very 

 weak dorsal plate ; dorsal tuft a long hair and brush on each side ; a small lateral 

 hair; ventral brush well developed, with small tufts preceding. Anal gills 

 absent, represented by a single low, broad prominence. 



The larvae inhabit crab-holes near the sea which are filled with brackish water. 

 The eggs are apparently laid singly on the sides of the holes and the dry season 

 is probably passed in tiiis state. The acces of water causes the eggs to hatch. 

 The adults frequent the upper parts of the crab-holes above the water and do 

 not wander far from these situations. Dr. M. Grabham has found Culex janitor 

 associated with these larvae in crab-holes in Jamaica. Dr. Dyar obtained a few 

 larvae in southern Florida from a crab-hole that had been filled with salt water 

 from some dredging operations. The other holes were dry and the species at the 

 time evidently in a state of hibernation. Dr. Grabham states that the species 

 feeds only at night and is " a voracious bloodsucker." On the other hand. Dr. 

 Low, as quoted by Theobald, " could never get them to bite," and our observa- 

 tions on other species of the genus correspond with this latter opinion. We think 

 it probable that the species does not bite man, although this should be investi- 

 gated further. In a large series of captured specimens before us none show 

 traces of blood in the stomach. In the account of this species in the Culicidae 

 of Jamaica, Theobald and Grabham make no mention of the biting habits. 

 They say : 



" This is a ' crab-hole ' breeding form, the water in which they occur being 

 brackish. The larvae occur at the bottom of these crab-holes, near the sea. The 

 crab-holes are long winding passages, sometimes three or four feet long and only 

 about four inches in diameter. The live insects hold their long antennae stiffly 

 out in front, somewhat arched downwards and kept in constant movement ex- 

 ploring the surface as the insect crawls. . . . They are sluggish in fiight, 

 and, when disturbed, Dr. Low noticed that they fly slowly from one hole to 

 another. . . ." 



Littoral of the West Indian Islands and southern Florida. 



Near Kingston, Jamaica (M. Grabham) ; Mariel, Cuba, July 8, 1905 (J. W. 

 Taylor) ; Mariel, Cuba (J. H. Pazos) ; near Santo Domingo City, Santo Do- 

 mingo, August, 1905 (A. Busck) ; Santo Domingo City, from mudhole near 

 houses and river, December, 1905 (F. E. Campbell) ; Samaria, Santo Domingo, 

 December, 1905 (F. E. Campbell) ; Barbados, July, 1905 (A. Busck) ; Guade- 

 loupe, July, 1905 (A. Busck) ; opposite Miami, Florida, April, 1905 (Dyar & 

 Caudell). 



The species is also reported from Santa Lucia and St. Vincent (Theobald) ; 

 specimens reported from British Guiana by Theobald are probably not this 

 species. 



This species was first described under the name Deinocerites cancer from 

 female specimens, with which were wrongly associated males of Culex janitor. 

 Later the true male was discovered but was supposed to be a female on account 

 of the peculiar simple antennae, and was described as a new genus and species 

 under the name Brachiomyia magna. Theobald and Blanchard later recognized 

 the synonymy of the genera Deinocerites and Brachiomyia, but held the species 

 distinct. We have been able to recognize several distinct species of Deinocerites; 

 but these two, described from the same f aunal region, are undoubtedly the same. 



