dip 
Life history of mosquitoes in general.—In general terms the biology 
of the Culicide—the family to which the true mosquitoes belong— 
may briefly be summed up. All general statements heretofore have 
been based upon the life history of one or two species of the genus 
Culex, yet it is certain that such remarks will not only not hold for 
the whole family, but that, except in a general way, they will not hold 
for all the species of Culex. So far as is definitely known, the larve 
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 condition also in water, 
but floating normally at the surface. They pass through several gen- 
erations in the course of a year and hibernate as adults. Hibernating 
mosquitoes may frequently be found during the winter months in 
barns and in the cellars and cold garrets of houses. Dr. W. S. 
Thayer, of Baltimore, informs the writer that he found Anopheles 
crucians and A. quadrimaculatus hibernating in enormous numbers in 
barns near New Orleans, clustering under the roofs and on the walls. 
In the extreme Southern States many mosquitoes are active all through 
the winter, and mosquito bars are almost as necessary at Christmas 
time as during the summer. 
Food of adult mosquitoes.—\t is a well-known fact that the adult 
male mosquito does not necessarily take nourishment and that the 
adult female does not necessarily rely on the blood of warm-blooded 
animals. The mouth parts of the male are so different from those of 
the female that it is probable that if it feeds at all it obtains its 
food in a quite different manner from the female. They are often 
observed sipping at drops of water, and in one instance a fondness 
for molasses has been recorded. 
The writer has already placed on record the instance in which his 
colleague, Mr. E. A. Schwarz, observed a male mosquito sipping beer, 
but the mest interesting Instance of alcoholism of the male mosquito 
which has come to his notice was described in a letter received last 
spring from Dr. St. George Gray, of Castries, St. Lucia, British 
West Indies. Dr. Gray wrote: 
‘The males, especially C. pipiens, are very fond of wine, and almost every day I 
can catch one or two—always males—on the neck of the decanter or in a wineglass 
that has just been used. I put a few mosquitoes under a bell jar one day in order to 
watch them. I puta single drop of port wine under the jar, as I had heard that 
mosquitoes could be kept alive fora long time on wine. When I went to look at 
them a few hours later I found them all apparently dead, so I put them in a dry 
bottle, intending to pin them later. When I went to pin them shortly afterwards 
they were all staggering about in the most ridiculous manner—they were drunk!” 
The female mosquitoes are normally without much doubt plant 
feeders. Why they should draw blood at all is a question which has 
not been solyed. It has been surmised that a supply of highly nutri- 
