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PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XIV, October I960 
within it, survive the journey, survive any treat- 
ment designed to destroy it, and escape on 
arrival and find refuge, food, and a breeding 
place. It and its offspring must then survive to 
breed. It is virtually impossible to ensure that 
no insect can survive any particular one of these 
stages and efforts should be directed to weak- 
ening every link in the chain as much as pos- 
sible. In the present case it is probable that the 
unusual facilities offered for breeding were de- 
cisive in making the introduction of A. vigilax 
possible. There is no reason why a similar acci- 
dent should not permit the much more serious 
establishment of a malaria vector, and all rea- 
sonable measures should be taken to prevent it. 
SUMMARY 
Aedes ( Ochlerotatus ) vigilax (Skuse) is a 
serious pest in Australia, New Caledonia, and 
elsewhere. In December, 1957, it was found 
breeding near Suva and within 3 months it had 
been found round much of the coast of Viti 
Levu, the largest island of the group, and was 
established as the worst pest species on the coast 
whenever conditions favoured its breeding. Its 
spread is described and its probable mode of 
introduction, by air, is discussed. 
The species is a very efficient host of the 
New Caledonian strain of nonperiodic ban- 
croftial filariasis but is a poor host of the Fijian 
strain of this parasite. One experiment indicates 
that it may be a good vector of the dog filaria 
Dirofilaria immitis. 
REFERENCES 
Amos, D. W. 1947. Mosquito Control Training 
Manual. 2nd ed. Government Printer, Suva, 
Fiji. 
Backhouse, T. C, and A. R. Woodhill. 1956. 
Further studies on the hospitality of some 
scutellaris group & other mosquitos towards 
Wuchereria bancroftii from New Caledonia. 
S. Pacif. Comm. Tech. Inform. Circ. 17. 
IYENGAR, M. O. T. 1954. Distribution of filari- 
asis in the South Pacific region. S. Pacif. 
Comm. Tech. Pap. 66. 
1955. Distribution of mosquitos in the 
South Pacific region. S. Pacif. Comm. Tech. 
Pap. 86. 
Iyengar, M. O. T., and M. A. U. Menon. 1956. 
Studies on filariasis in New Caledonia. S. 
Pacif. Comm. Tech. Inform. Circ. 15. 
Laird, M. 1956. Studies of mosquitos and fresh- 
water ecology in the South Pacific region. 
Roy. Soc. N. Z. Bull. 6. 
Lever, R. J. A. 1940. Agric. J. Fiji 11: 82. 
— 1945. Agric. J. Fiji 16: 90. 
Symes, C. B. 1955. Filarial infections in mosqui- 
tos in Fiji. Trans. Roy. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 
49: 280-284. 
1956. Observations on the natural his- 
tory of human filariasis in Fiji. Report to 
Secretary of State for the Colonies, London. 
(Mimeo.) 
