Fig. 14:12. Deuferoph/eb/'a coloradensis Pennak (Pennak, 1951). 



391 

 Wirth and Stone: Diptera 



Family CULICIDAE 



Mosquitoes as a group need no introduction. They 

 occur wherever man may go, from the arctic to the 

 tropics. As a nuisance they have stimulated strong 

 invectives and have prompted the formation of many 

 mosquito abatement projects throughout the country. 

 But contrary to popular opinion, not all mosquitoes 

 bite. The males of all species are innocuous, and 

 both sexes of the Chaoborinae are nonbiters. Of 

 greater consequence is the role of mosquitoes in 

 the transmission of disease. Malaria, yellow fever, 

 dengue, encephalitis, filariasis, and other mosquito- 

 borne diseases have plagued the human race for 

 centuries. 



Inspired largely by wartime epidemics, knowledge 

 of mosquitoes probably surpasses that of any other 

 group of insects. In California the only really confus- 

 ing group of mosquitoes left to study is the Aedes 

 group of the high mountain snow pools. The California 

 species of Culicinae have been recently revised by 

 Freeborn and Bohart (1951). Mosquito larvae are the 

 familiar "wrigglers" which play an important part in 

 the aquatic community where they form a staple item 

 in the diet of fish and many aquatic insects. 



Keys to the North American Genera of Culicidae 

 Adults 



Fig. 14:13. Deureroph/ebi'a shasta Wirth. o, male pupa, dorsal 

 view; b, same, ventral; c, detail of hook of larval proleg; d, 

 detail of tip of eighth abdominal segment of larva; e, mature 

 larva, dorsal view (hooks of second and sixth prolegs, right side, 

 inverted); f, female pupa, dorsal view; g, same, ventral; h, larval 

 head, ventral view, showing mouth parts (Wirth, 1951). 



1. Proboscis not elongate, extending but little beyond 

 clypeus; wirlgs v;ith scales (when present) confined 

 mostly to fringe (CHAOBORINAE) 2 



— Proboscis elongate, extending far beyond clypeus; 

 wings with scales on veins and margin (CULICINAE) 



4 



2. Anal vein ends before the fork of the fifth vein 



Eucorethra Underwood 



— Anal vein ends beyond the fork of the fifth vein .... 3 



3. First tarsal segment much shorter than the second . . 



Corethra Meigen 



— First tarsal segment longer than the second (fig. 

 14:15a) Chaoborus Lichtenstein 



4. Proboscis rigid, the basal half stout, the apical half 

 more slender and bent sharply backward 



Toxorhynchites Theobald 



— Proboscis not rigid, of nearly uniform thickness or the 

 tip swollen 5 



5. Scutellum rounded posteriorly and with marginal hairs 

 arranged in an unbroken line; abdomen without scales; 

 females with palpi about as long as proboscis (fig. 

 14: 166) Anopheles Meigen 



— Scutellum trilobed posteriorly and with bristles in 3 

 groups; abdomen with evident scales; females with 

 short palpi 6 



6. Postnotum with a tuft of setae; squamae without a 

 fringe of hairs Wyeomyia Theobald 



— Postnotum without a tuft of setae; squamae with a 

 fringe of hairs 7 



7. Second marginal cell (bounded by branches of first 

 fork vein) less than half as long as its petiole 



Uranotaenia Lynch 



— Second marginal cell at least as long as its petiole 



8 



8. Fourth fore tarsal segment about as long as wide; 

 mesonotum marked with longitudinal white lines .... 

 Orthopodomyia Theobald 



— Fourth fore tarsal segment much longer than wide ... 9 



9. First segment of hind tarsus with a median pale ring; 

 wing scales mixed dark and white 10 



