618 
INSECTA. 
composed of fourteen joints; and the proboseis is long, porrected, filiform, inclosing a punctorial 
sucker, composed of five setae, [according to LatreiUe, but in reality of six, exclusive of the palpi]. 
They constitute the genus 
CuLEX, Linn. {Culicides, Latr.), — 
And have the body and legs very long, the antennae very hairy, forming a thick pencil, in the males ; 
the eyes large, convergent above ; the palpi porrected, filiform, villose, as long as the proboscis, and 
5-jointed in the males, shorter and fewer-jointed in the females ; the proboscis is composed of a 
membranous cylindrical tube, terminated by two lips, forming a kind of knob, and of a sucker consisting 
of five [six] scaly filaments, producing the effect of a sting, the wings resting horizontally upon 
the back, with small scales. 
These insects are very annoying, especially in damp situations, where they most abound. Thirsting 
for our blood, they pursue us every where, entering our habitations, especially in the evening, 
making a loud buzzing, and piercing our skins, which our clothes cannot even always protect, with 
the delicate setae of their proboscis, which are denticulated at the tips. In proportion as they thrust 
it into our flesh the sheath of the proboscis becomes elbowed towards the breast. They discharge a 
venomous fluid into the wound, which is the cause of the pain felt. It is observed that we are only 
attacked by the female gnats ; [the males indeed have the mouth organs, fewer in number and 
weaker]. The gnats are known in America under the names of Maringouins or Musquitoes. They 
are only to be guarded against by enveloping the bed with a Musquito curtain. The Laplanders drive 
them away by fire, and by coating the naked parts of the body with grease. The females deposit their 
eggs on the surface of the water, crossing their hind legs near the anus, and by degrees extending 
them as the eggs are discharged from the body, and which they place side by side, the entire mass 
resembling a small boat : each female deposits about 300 eggs in the course of the year. These 
insects are able to withstand the strongest frosts. The larvae live in stagnant water, and are es- 
pecially to be found in the spring. They suspend themselves at the surface of water, head downwards 
for respiration ; they have a distinct rounded head, furnished with a pair of antennae, and of ciliated 
organs, which serve by their continual motion to form a kind of current, which brings their food to the 
mouth ; a thorax with bundles of hairs ; an elongated, nearly cylindric abdomen, much narrower than 
the anterior part of the body, 10-jointed, the antepenultimate joint being furnished with a respiratory 
organ on its back ; the terminal joint is also terminated by setae and by radiating pieces. These larvae 
are very active, swimming with great agility, often descending, but quickly coming again to the 
surface of the water. After having undergone several moultings, they are transformed into pupae, 
which continue moveable with the assistance of their tails and two oar-like pieces at its extremity. 
They also suspend themselves at the surface of the water, but in a contrary direction to that of the 
larva ; the organs of respiration being now placed at the thorax, and consisting in a pair of tubular 
horns. It is then also that the imago is developed, the exuviae of the pupa becoming a kind of raft 
for it, which preserves it from submersion. All these changes are effected [in the summer], in three 
or four weeks, so that there are several generations in the course of the year. 
Culex proper, comprises those species which have 
the male palpi longer than the proboscis, and very 
short in the females. C. pipiens, Linn., the Common 
Gnat. 
Anopheles, Meg., has the male palpi as long as 
the proboscis. 
^des, Hoffm., has the palpi in both sexes very 
short. Robineau Desvoidy, in his essay on this 
family, has added three other genera. 
Sabethes, with the palpi shorter than the pi'obos- 
cis, and the middle tibiae and tarsi dilated. 
Megarhina, with the proboscis long and recurved 
Fig. 132.— Culex pipiens, female, natural size and magnified, with the head palpi short, with the basal joint 
of the male. . 
thick. 
Psorophora, with the ocelli distinct ; the legs of the female ciliated, and two small appendages at the sides of 
the prothorax. C. ciliatus, Fabr. 
The other Nemocera have the proboscis either very short, and terminated by two large lips, or like 
