1 88 The Control of Mosquitoes 



our mosquito trap experiments and caged mosqui- 

 toes at the experiment station. As soon as they 

 find a mosquito trap there is a constant stream of 

 them going to and from it and when they have 

 disposed of the dead mosquitoes they begin on 

 the Uve ones. One ant catches a mosqtiito by a 

 leg and almost immediately others come to assist. 

 In one instance they were seen catching a mosquito 

 larva in the cup of water at the base of a banana 

 leaf. 



The "night jar" is the most interesting of the 

 numerous birds that feed on mosquitoes while in 

 flight. At Gatun, these birds invariably appeared 

 just before the evening flight began. And in the 

 morning" they could be heard at the settlement, 

 and followed the returning flight from the settle- 

 ment back to the breeding place. They dis- 

 appeared when the morning return flight stopped. 

 After dusk it was too dark to see how late they fed. 



Bats destroy large numbers of mosquitoes near 

 houses. Before the houses on the Isthmus were 

 screened they passed back and forth through the 

 balconies, and the flight range extended only 

 a short distance beyond the house. Since the 

 balconies were screened they have been more 

 numerous between half -past six and seven o'clock, 

 which is the time the Anopheles assemble on the 



