68 Bulletin Wisconsin Natural History Society [Vol. 11, Nos. 1-2 
nomus plumosus massed along Lake Winnebago and discussed 
in detail in a recent paper in the Bulletin of the Wisconsin Natural 
History Society (vol. 10, nos. 3-4, December, 1912, pp. 124-163). 
In this paper, the swarms are likened to smoke to quote Knab’s 
paper from Swinton, 1768. Knab (q. v., for bibliog.) also quotes 
Taschenberg, 1883, as suggesting that mosquitoes with which 
Knab’s paper mostly deals, do not assume the form of tall col- 
umns over trees as often as Chironomids. In none of my obser- 
vations have the species of Chironomids discussed above taken 
a good columnar form, a fact which would seem to throw the 
observations quoted by Knab back upon the Culicid group. Yet 
Schuster (l.c.) saw Chironomus plumosus in columns. He also 
quotes Moufet, 1634, as seeing Chironomids or Culicids gathered 
at house gables or over the heads of people passing over bridges. 
From all that Knab or the present writer has transcribed, the 
riddle of deciding on the family of insect by the type of swarm, 
seems insoluble. Knab always saw mosquitoes, while the writer 
has always seen midges without having observed mosquito swarms. 
There is good reason to suppose that both observers have reported 
correctly their own observations and that on this point of swarm 
type they will have to abandon to oblivion the effort to determine 
the species noted by ancient writers. Morley (l.c.) quotes, how- 
ever, from Haliday (1883. Ent. Mag. p. 151)as determining a 
humming swarm as Culex detritus , and Douglas (1895. Ent. Mo. 
Mag. p. 239) as another Culex. 
Radi's papers show that these insects orient themselves towards 
some definite object, prominent by size or difference in color from 
surrounding objects, not only “ trees, bushes, sign-posts or even 
heads of grass,” but also “over paths through fields or spots of 
different color in the general ground surface, but not elevated 
above the surroundings.” Packard (1876. Guide to the Study 
of Insects, 370-371, speaks of the midge found along the Massa- 
chusetts coast, a salt water species reclassified by Johannsen, 
1905, as Orthocladius oceanicus. This recalls my having seen an un- 
usual ball of midges dancing in front of a pavillion on the Nahant 
cliffs at Nahant, Mass., some half mile west of Senator Lodge’s 
residence. This dancing ball some two meters in diameter was 
observed at twilight (July 24) shortly after a rainy day, 1895. 
Needham (1908 N. Y. Sta. Mus. Bull. 124, p. 171) gives an 
