MOSQUITOES 



(Family Culicidce.) 



This group includes the familiar insects known as mosqui- 

 toes — not a large group, but a very important one, not only from 

 the fact that mosquitoes abound in so many localities and are 

 great annoyances to man and animals, but also from the fact that 



they are active 

 agents in the 

 transfer of dis- 

 ease. They are^ 

 found in great 

 abundance in 

 tropical regions, 

 in temperate re- 

 gions and even 

 far to the North. 

 Travelers in 



Alaska state that 

 the abundance 

 and voracity of 

 the Alaskan mos- 

 quitoes is be- 

 yond descrip- 

 tion. They oc- 

 cur with equal 

 abundance in 

 Lapland and in 

 Greenland. 



So far as 

 definitely known 

 the larvae of all mosquitoes are aquatic, although they are true 

 air-breathers; that is to say, they must come to the surface of the 

 water to breathe. They are rapid breeders, and pass the pupal 



98 



Fig. 52. — Anopheles punctipennis : Female with male an- 

 tenna at right, and wing-tip showing venation at left — 

 enlarged. (Author's illustration.) 



