988 MOSQUITOES OF NOETH AMEEICA 



This larva was bright green, although there were no algae visible in the water 

 from the bromeliad which it inhabited. 



Dr. Lutz discovered a species very similar to this (Anopheles holiviensis Theo- 

 bald) on the slopes of the coast range at Sao Paulo, Brazil, while investigating 

 an epidemic of malaria which had broken out among the thousands of laborers 

 employed in the construction of a railroad line between Sao Paulo and Santos. 

 Dr. Lutz took up his quarters in a house upon the mountain slopes in question 

 and found that many species of biting insects entered in the evening when the 

 inhabitants were seated around the lamp. Among these was a mosquito dis- 

 tinguishable by its spotted wings and the perpendicular position it assumed in 

 biting. In spite of its small size it proved to be an exceedingly greedy blood- 

 sucker and, without preliminary humming, pounced upon the persons present 

 and a small dog. The bite of this species causes hardly any paia and sometimes 

 does not even attract notice. In shady places ia the forest and ia cloudy weather 

 this mosquito also bites in the daytime and ia places may be troublesome in the 

 hot hours of the day. 



The larvae were located in the water between the leaves of bromeliaceous 

 plants, their body-color is red which appears in the form of small spots and 

 becomes a livelier crimson as the larva grows older. Its form, as compared with 

 the larvae of other Anopheles, is broader and shorter and its breathing-tube is 

 broader. It attains the usual length of 13 to 15 mm. The pupa is more 

 diffusely yellowish-red with dark coloration upon the caudal paddles. The 

 number of larvae found in a plant varies but is never so large that it could be 

 supposed that the female had deposited all her eggs there. 



Lutz states that numerically Anopheles holiviensis furnished about one-fifth of 

 the larvffi of all the bromelia-inhabiting species, about 40 in number. According 

 to Peryassu the larva is predaceous. 



Panama and northward to southern Mexico. 



Caldera Island, Porto Bello Bay, Panama, January 30, 1908 (A. H. Jen- 

 nings) ; Fort San Felipe, Porto Bello Bay, Panama, June 2, 1908 (A. H. 

 Jennings) ; Estrella, Costa Eica, 3000 meters, September (C. Picado) ; Orosi, 

 Costa Eica, 1100 meters, November to January (C. Picado) ; C6rdoba, Mexico, 

 December 33, 1907 (F. Knab). 



Anopheles neivai is closely related to two other species, A. holiviensis and 

 A. hellator, whose larvae also inhabit the water held by Bromeliaceae. It closely 

 resembles these and differs most strikingly in having but two white spots on the 

 eosta while they have four. Our description is based upon two females from 

 Panama. 



A specimen of A. holiviensis, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, received through the 

 kindness of Dr. Lutz, has the third vein white-scaled, only black near the base 

 and tip. Theobald's description is silent upon this point, but Giles's description 

 and figure show the middle third of this vein white-scaled. Specimens collected 

 by Prof. C. H. T. Townsend on the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes agree 

 in every respect with the Brazilian specimen. In our specimens of A. neivai 

 the vein is entirely black-scaled, except immediately at its origin. Owing to 

 the paucity of material before us, we were unable to judge of the range of varia- 

 tion in these species and so at first retained our specimens under the name 

 Anopheles cruzii ( = A. holiviensis Theobald). Dr. Arthur Neiva of Eio de 

 Janeiro later made us a visit and after examining the specimens expressed 

 the opinion that they are not the same as the Brazilian species with which he is 

 familiar. He pointed out that it differs in larval as well as in imaginal char- 

 acters. The larva of Anopheles holiviensis, according to the description and 

 figures of Peryassii (Os Culicideos do Brazil, 1908, p. 328, pis. 1, 2), has seven 

 pairs of stellate tufts on the abdomen and their single elements are lanceolate, 

 sharply pointed; A. neivai has but six pairs of tufts and their elements are 

 truncate; other minor differences exist. It gives us much pleasure to dedicate 

 the species to Dr. Neiva, to whom we are much indebted for help and sug- 

 gestions in the preparation of the general part of this work. 



