part 2] mosquitoes in the British museum. 155 



which she herself had found in a very fine-grained deposit con- 

 taining exquisitely-preserved plant-remains. The mode of pre- 

 servation and general conditions of the strata seemed to indicate 

 that there were times when these fossil insects did not come 

 by their deaths in the way implied by Dr. Bather, but that 

 probably in such freshwater deposits they accumulated more or 

 less naturally as a result of sudden puffs of wind throwing the 

 mosquitoes on to the water, their wings becoming entangled in 

 the water-surface, and after drowning they ultimately sank as 

 would any other waterlogged debris. The fossil insects in her 

 possession were not in the condition of ' bran-mash ' fragments 

 as those so generally described, but were remarkably perfect, 

 with stretched wings attached to the bodies, and legs hanging 

 as though they were floating through the air. 



The Author, in reply, said that he did not think that fossil 

 mosquitoes could be used satisfactorily as indices of climate, the 

 differences between Arctic and tropical species being too slight. 

 The Isle-of- Wight insects were perhaps drowned in a small lake 

 and blown to the edge (as frequently happens now), and pro- 

 bably were quickly covered. It was doubtless true that the adults 

 of many mosquitoes fed on vegetable substances, and could exist 

 without blood ; but mosquitoes with bloodsucking habits might 

 have existed before mammals were developed, since at the present 

 day birds, reptiles, and even amphibians were attacked by some 

 species of mosquitoes. 



