THE MOSQUITOES OF THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES 57 



overlooked. The most obvious recognition character is the marking 

 of the abdomen, in which the dark scales of the dorsuin and the 

 white scales of the venter meet at the side to form a straight line. 

 The mesonotum lacks the dorsocentral bristles and is covered with 

 broad, appressed scales instead of the narrow, semierect scales of 

 Oulex. They differ from all the other genera in having a tuft of 

 bristles on the postnotum. The palpi are short in both sexes. 



WYEOMYIA MITCHELLII (Theob.) 



The larvae of this mosquito occur in water that collects at the base 

 of the leaves of epiphytic Bromeliaceae. They occur throughout the 

 year, provided their breeding places do not become dry. The females 

 bite readily and are encountered occasionally in some abundance. 

 They do not migrate far from their breeding places. The white 

 markings on the feet are more noticeable when the insects are flying. 

 When at rest the hind legs are turned up over the back with the feet 

 pointing forward. The species is found in the United States only in 

 southern Florida. Specimens have been taken as far north as Orange 

 County (latitude about 28.5°). 



WYEOMYIA VANDUZEEI D. and K. 



The habits and distribution of this species are almost identical with 

 those of Wyeomyia mitchellii. The adults of the two species are 

 distinguished with difficulty. 



WYEOMYIA SMITHII (Coq.) 



(Pitcherplant mosquito) 



This is a northeastern species that has been reported as far south 

 as Theodore, Ala. It breeds exclusively in the pitcherplant (Sar- 

 racenia purpurea) . The female is not known to bite. 



SYNOPTIC TABLES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF 

 THE MOSQUITOES OF THE SOUTHEAST 



The accompanying tables have been prepared in the usual form of 

 opposed couplets, but the principal keys are more detailed than usual, 

 to provide in one place a fairly complete comparative description of 

 each species. The most obvious characters are given in the first 

 sentence of each couplet and are followed, in brackets, with others 

 that help to define the species or group. These are used frequently 

 in confirming a provisional identification, and should be of especial 

 value to one just beginning a study of mosquito taxonomy. Many 

 of them are of further use when the first characters mentioned can- 

 not be employed owing to the loss of scales or appendages. When 

 there is doubt as to which part of a couplet the specimen fits, it is the 

 practice to follow out both divisions to find a later fit if possible. 



As previously mentioned, a preliminary identification of the genus 

 is not required in using the key to adults. In practical experience 

 it is found that specific characters in the adult frequently are more 

 easily recognized than generic characters, and in routine work most 

 identifications are made without reference, for example, to the 

 thoracic bristles, the genus being known by the recognition of the 

 species. However, some of the genera, such as Anopheles and 



