FIRST LESSONS IN ZOOLOGY 



Fig. 



-i;cak 



wings a pair of delicate little knobbed processes projecting 



from the body ? These are 

 called balancers and they aid 

 the moscjuito in directing its 

 flight. Note the long, piercing 

 and sucking beak (fig. 2) by 

 means of which the mosquito 

 gets its food, which is either the 

 blood of animals or the sap of 

 plants. The male mosquitoes 

 never (or very rarely) suck 

 blood. On each side of the 

 beak, and arising at its base, is 

 „1 female mosquito a pair of feelers or palpi, pre- 

 dissccted tu ^how the piercing sumably organs for smelling 



iieedle-likL- parts, and their . i ■ i i . 



sheath; mx.p, the maxilhiry and tastmg, or which at least 

 palpi, or feelers of the mouth, ^j^j j,., determining the charac- 

 ter of the food. These palpi are as long as the beak in 

 the males, but less than half as long in the females. 

 What are the large lilack spots on the head } Make a 

 drawing of a mosquito, showing and naming these parts. 

 If some of the mosquitoes are kept alive in jars filled 

 with water and covered with netting the females may 

 perhaps lay eggs on the surface of the water. Kut it is not 

 at all certain that they will ; indeed, the}' seem to lay eggs 

 only rarely when thus kept in confinement. If a slice of 

 banana be put in the jar the mosquitoes may be seen to 

 suck the sap from it, and they may be kept alive for many 

 da}'S if given fresh banana e\'er\' three or foiu" daj's. If 

 the egg-laying occurs, the life-liistory of our mosquitoes 

 is completed. A new c)'clc is about to begin. 



Distribution of mosquitoes. - Mostiuitoes are distrib- 

 uted all over the world, l)eing found in enormous numbers 

 in arctic regions and on high mountain ranges as well as 

 in the tropics, and in swamps and marshy valley's. j\|j(ji_it 



