HABITS OF ANOPHELES 441 



argyrotarsus; in Europe, A. maculipennis; in Africa, A. costalis 

 and funesta; in India, A. culicifacies, stephensi and listoni; in 

 Malay countries, A. umbrosus and willmori; in China and Japan, 

 A. sinensis and listoni; and in Australia, A. bancrofti. 



These species are only a few of the most widely distributed and 

 commonest of the efficient malaria 

 carriers. Many other species may 

 be locally more important. 



Habits of Anopheles. — Be- 

 sides the abiUty to nurse the 

 parasites of malaria, an efficient 

 malaria spreader must have habits 

 which will insure the use of such 

 ability. The important malaria 

 carriers are, therefore, species 

 which readily attack man, and 

 especially those which are more 



or less "domesticated." Nearly Fig. 200. The common North 

 „ii „„„ • „ c A 7 7 J.- American malarial mosquito, Anoph- 



all species of Anopheles are active ,1,, ^uadrinmcuiatus. 

 only at twilight, and forage out- 

 doors neither in bright dayhght nor in the darkness of night, 

 though such species may bite at any hour of the day inside houses. 

 Different species are known to come forth at different times 

 in the evening, some with the first shade of the late afternoon, 

 others not until almost dark. A few species, e.g., A. braziliensis, 

 are diurnal, and many forest species will readily bite in the day- 

 time if disturbed. Nearly all Anopheles hibernate as adults, 

 but a few, notably A. bifurcatus of Europe, hibernate as larvae. 

 Anopheles may breed in almost any standing water providing 

 it contains microscopic organisms on which to feed. Dr. Smith, 

 of New Jersey, says he has found no pool so insignificant and 

 no stream so rapid that Anopheles could not breed in it some- 

 where. He says " no other mosquito has as wide a range of 

 breeding places as have the species of Anopheles." Nevertheless, 

 it is apparently true that each species has its favorite breeding 

 grounds and some species are quite particular. A. willmori 

 of the hilly parts of Malay, for instance, will breed only in swift- 

 running streams, the banks of which are cleared, whereas A. 

 umbrosus of the coastal plains of the same country breeds only 

 in jungle-edged streams; A. eiseni of Central America breeds 



