Mosquitoes 



95 



in places farther north, especially in summer time, 

 where it may thrive for a time. The adult mos- 

 quito (Fig. 104) is black, conspicuously marked 

 with white. The legs and abdomen are banded 

 with white and on the thorax is a series of white 

 lines which in well-preserved specimens distinctly 

 resembles a lyre. These mosquitoes are essentially 

 domestic insects, for they are very rarely found ex- 

 cept in houses or in their immediate vicinity. Once 

 they enter a room they will scarcely leave it except 

 to lay their eggs in a near-by cistern, water-pot, or 

 some other convenient place. 



Their habit of biting in the daytime has gained 

 for them the name of "day mosquitoes" to distin- 

 guish them from the night feeders. But they will 

 bite at night as well as by day and many other 

 species are not at all adverse to a daylight meal, if 

 the opportunity offers, so this habit is not distinc- 

 tive. The recognition of these facts has a distinct 

 bearing in the methods adopted to prevent the 

 spread of yellow fever. There are no striking char- 

 acters or habits in the larval or pupal stages that 

 would enable us to distinguish without careful ex- 

 amination this species from other similar forms 

 with which it might be associated. For some time 

 it was claimed that this species would breed only in 

 clean water, but it has been found that it is not 



