TABLES OF AEDES 615 



entirely disappeared. Eggs have been found attached to dead leaves upon the 

 ground and in the case of the salt-marsh species in the unsubmerged earth. The 

 eggs do not hatch until after they have remained dormant for a time and then 

 do so very promptly when submerged. The tree-hole breeders lay the eggs on the 

 sides of the cavity, above the water-margin. One species, which inhabits holes 

 in rocks, lays the eggs singly and scattered during the summer, but in fall places 

 them in a compact mass adhering to the rock wall, where they pass the winter and 

 endure even tiie fury of the spring floods to which they are subjected. The 

 length of larval life varies greatly with the species, the water temperature and 

 food supply, but we do not know of any Aedes that passes the winter in the larval 

 state. 



The adult females fly for a number of weeks and probably all subsist at least in 

 part on blood. With the single exception of Aedes calopus none of our species 

 are associates of man and do not habitually enter houses. Perhaps the majority 

 of them never do so, and they are only troublesome in the forests or fields, or 

 indoors only if especially abundant. In the northern woods the early spring 

 species live until the middle of the summer and they are the principal mosquitoes 

 to be met with in the woods of the northern states. Along the coasts the salt- 

 marsh species are often very abundant and a serious nuisance. 



The mating habits have been insufficiently observed. The males form swarms, 

 or swarm slightly. Only four American species have been specifically observed 

 and will be found described in this work as follows: Aedes spencerii, vol. 1, 

 p. 130; Aedes fitchii, vol. 1, p. 131; Aedes calopus, vol. 1, p. 375; Aedes vari- 

 ■palpus, vol. 4, p. 647. 



Tables of the Species. 



AdXJLTS, StEUCTUBE and ColiOBA'nON. 



1. Claws of the female toothed, at least on front and middle legs 2 



Claws of the female simple 65 



2. Thoracic integument yellow 3 



Thorax brown or gray, not markedly paler than the abdomen 6 



3. Mesonotum yellow with two black spots; abdomen and legs yellow 4 



Mesonotum without black spots; legs black 5 



4. Pleurffi with a broad dark bar; hind legs shortly cillate 



/ttZiJits Wiedemann (p. S24) 

 Pleur» with a small dark dot or none; hind legs not clliate 



bimaculatus Coquillett (p. 622) 



5. Liarge; some of the tarsal joints white-marked knahi Coquillett (p. 841) 



Smaller; tarsi all black hortator Dyar & Knab (p. 843) 



6. Tarsal joints or some of them white-ringed 7 



Tarsal joints without white rings 32 



7. Joints white-ringed at base and apex 8 



Joints white-ringed at base only 17 



8. Pale rings irregular, some of the Joints not ringed 9 



Pale rings regular on the joints, diminishing evenly, the last joint of the hind 



feet wholly white 11 



9. First joint of mid tarsi white with very narrow black central rine; 



podographicus Dyar & Knab (p. 812) 

 First joint of mid tarsi white with a broad black central ring 10 



10. Thorax of female with anterior silvery patch cut by a median dark band 



oswaldi Lutz (p. 815) 

 Thorax of female with anterior silvery patch united before 



thorntoni Dyar & Knab (p. 819) 



11. Scales of the wings markedly bicolored 12 



Scales of the wings uniformly dark colored 14 



12. Larger species; pleurae yellowish-gray scaled, campestris Dyar & Knab (p. 627) 

 Medium sized species; pleurae whitish-gray scaled 13 



13. Salt marsh species onondagensis Felt (p. 629) 



Inland species from California to Illinois. . . ; curriei Coquillett (p. 634) 



14. Mesonotum pale, with broad dark median stripe 15 



Mesonotum not so marked 16 



15. Mesonotum laterally light golden yellow atropalpus Coquillett (p. 638) 



Mesonotum laterally silver-white scaled epactius Dyar & Knab (p. 642) 



16. Mesonotum pale yellowish, with dark spots varipalpus Coquillett (p. 644) 



Mesonotum wholly reddish yellow canadensis Theobald (p. 647) 



