318 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. VII, July, 1953 
true that it is not as clearly distinguished as 
the adult stage, the majority of species are 
readily recognized. Perhaps the distinctive- 
ness of the adults of Uranotaenia has been 
overemphasized, as the extremely small size 
of the microtrichia is actually the only char- 
acter possessed by all species that distin- 
guishes them from other mosquitoes, and 
this is a relative character whose constancy 
has not been checked. 
The presence of several distinct types of 
pupae hinders the diagnosis of the genus and 
indicates its complexity, but the following 
characters apply to the majority of species: 
abdominal hair 1-IX better developed than 
in any other genus, at least one half as long 
as segment, usually thickened; palpal case 
very short; torus case exceptionally large; hair 
4-C placed far caudad and mesad of 5-C; hair 
6-C single, usually thickened and very long, 
always longer than 7-C; hairs 6, 7-C far re- 
moved from 4, 5-C; mesoscutum very strong- 
ly arched; paddle with part mesad of midrib 
broader than outer part; cereal plates of fe- 
male indistinct, usually poorly sclerotized and 
never projecting. 
The different sections present in the Solo- 
mons are differentiated as follows: 
Section Al. — Trumpet with a distinct slit into 
meatus from pinna, placed closer to mid- 
dorsal line than to wing case; paddle with 
one weak hair and with indistinct serra- 
tions, distinctly longer than wide; cephalo- 
thoracic and abdominal hairs conspicuous- 
ly branched; hairs 8, 12-11 absent. 
Section A2. — Trumpet without slit, placed 
closer to wing case than to middorsal line; 
paddle without hair; other characters as in 
section Al. 
Section C2.— Trumpet without slit, placed 
closer to wing case than to middorsal line; 
paddle with 2 strong terminal hairs and 
strong external and internal serrations; 
cephalothoracic and abdominal hairs not 
conspicuously branched; hairs 8, 12-11 pres- 
ent. 
Larval Characters 
The larval stage of Uranotaenia is by no 
means as distinct as generally regarded. Hop- 
kins (1936: 40-41), Barraud (1934: 59), and 
Edwards (1932: 97) have given good general 
diagnoses, but exceptions to the most striking 
characters— comb plate and single head hairs 
5 and 6 — are becoming more numerous as 
more larvae are described. 
In the Solomons all the known Uranotaenia 
can be distinguished in the larval stage as 
follows: Head: Usually slightly longer than 
broad but sometimes slightly broader than 
long; hairs 8 and 6 spike-like or simple or 
even branched; maxillary suture (premaxil- 
lary, mental, gular) always completely absent. 
Antenna: Short, smooth or minutely spicu- 
late; hair 1 short or long, single or branched. 
Thorax: Lateral and ventral hairs plumose or 
single. Abdomen: Dorsal and ventral hairs slen- 
der stellate tufts or single; lateral hair strongly 
developed on I, II or I-VI; comb plate always 
developed, sometimes united with its mate 
dorsally; comb scales and pecten teeth usu- 
ally fringed but may be simple or with a few 
basal denticles; anal saddle completely ring- 
ing segment; acus always present. 
The sections present in the Solomons may 
be differentiated as follows: 
Section Al. — Thorax and abdomen with dor- 
sal and ventral stellate tufts; antennal hair 
1-A at middle or near base; thoracic hairs | 
8, 9-M, 7, 9-T long multiple barbed tufts; I 
abdominal hairs 6 strongly developed on j 
I and II, weak and stellate on other seg- 
ments; hair 8-1 developed, hair ll-I absent; 
comb plates separate; comb scales and pec- 
ten teeth fringed laterally or apically; ven- 
tral valve hair 13-S twisted at base; all valve 
hairs single. Antennal hair single, short; 
head hairs 5, 6-C spike-like; abdominal hair 
4-II stellate; pecten not reaching beyond 
0.5 of siphon; siphonal hair 1-S less than 
0.5 of siphon length; head hair 14 thick- 
ened, spike-like. 
