358 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, VoL VII, July, 1953 
of a specimen from Milne Bay, Papua, show 
striking differences from U. solomonis. In the 
latter the anal saddle is almost twice as long 
as its width instead of only slightly longer; 
hair 1-X is 5-7b instead of 3b; hair 3-X is 
2b instead of single; hair 4a-X is 3b instead 
of 2b; hair 1-S is 10, llb(9-13) instead of 6b. 
Penn’s description and figure (1949: 32-33, 
fig. 17) of a single male pupa of U. albescens 
from Milne Bay, Papua, indicates an entirely 
different species. On the basis of the long 
trumpet, peculiar hair 8-C, and elongate hairs 
4-V-VII, as well as a number of other char- 
acters, I am convinced that Penn described 
a member of the tibialis- gtousp as U. albescens. 
Uranotaenia solomonis is very sharply sepa- 
rated from the other ornamented species of 
Uranotaenia from the Solomons in the struc- 
ture of the mesosome of the male genitalia. 
The "lateral plates" are broadly joined dor- 
sally by a heavily sclerotized bridge, and 
instead of the two simple teeth on each plate 
there are two teeth apically and a ventro- 
lateral process bearing three teeth. 
U. solomonis and U. albescens appear to form 
a species complex peculiar to the Papuan sub- 
region. This complex m*ay be related to U. 
campestris Leicester, 1908, from Malaya and 
U. arguellesi Baisas, 1935, from the Philip- 
pines. The latter resemble U. solomonis in ab- 
dominal ornamentation but differ in lacking 
the white-scaling on the hind tarsus and in 
having distinctly bluish scales on the head 
and thorax. Another related species may be 
U. macfarlanei Edwards, 1914, which has been 
reported from Okinawa, China, Hongkong, 
Java, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Assam. 
This species agrees with U. solomonis in having 
the light-scaling white but is distinct in ab- 
dominal ornamentation and the absence of 
the white-scaling of the hind tarsus. 
Biology 
Uranotaenia solomonis is the commonest Ura- 
notaenia of the Solomons breeding in ground 
pools. Usually it is found in rather open situa- 
tions, but it will tolerate considerable shade. 
It frequently breeds in temporary pools, ruts, 
springs, and streams and is common in some- 
what open parts of dense jungle swamps. 
Stagnant foul water is no deterrent to its 
breeding, and it has been collected even in 
tin cans. It is interesting to note in connection 
with the latter that U. albescens has been also 
collected in artificial containers (Taylor, 1914: 
706 ). 
This species has such a wide range of breed- 
ing habitats that it has been found associated 
with practically every species of mosquito 
utilizing ground water on Guadalcanal. It is 
often found with Anopheles farauti Laveran, 
1902, and A. punctulatus Donitz, 1901, but 
has a wider range of habitats than even Culex 
annulirostris Skuse, 1889- 
Living larvae are fairly easily distinguished 
in the field from other ground-water Urano- 
taenia by their long siphon, black head and 
antenna, and normally light-colored bodies. 
U. sexaueri has a somewhat similar coloration, 
but the pigmentation of the head is not as 
strong. Living pupae have a moderately long 
trumpet (index 4), dark throughout and quite 
like that of U. civinskii, but can be distin- 
guished from the latter in the field by the 
much shorter abdominal tufts 4-V-VIL 
Adults of U. solomonis are commonly seen 
in jungle vegetation in proximity to their 
breeding places, usually resting close to the 
ground but also on tree buttresses. They do 
not appear to fly readily until darkness sets in. 
In routine night hand catches at lighted quar- 
ters they were collected more frequently than 
any other Uranotaenia on Guadalcanal, but 
this may be due to their greater relative abund- 
ance in the populated area. 
Distribution 
Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal: Generally 
distributed throughout the year on north- 
central and northwest coast (JNB etal.,]. G. 
Eranclemont, K. L. Knight, P. W. Oman, 
Weathersby and Knapp) [USNM, CU, JNB]. 
Russell: Banika, IL, Mar. 1943 (W. G. Downs) ; 
IE, 1944 (R. B. Eads) [USNM]. New Georgia: 
