Mosquitoes in Melanesia — Belkin 
225 
rant caledonica and the "palm-bract” race of 
melanesiensis and probably at a later date the 
populations on the adjacent island groups, 
Loyalties and Belep. The invasion of the New 
Hebrides is much more recent but has given 
rise to a new and now active center of specia- 
tion. Probably the atypical northern races of 
melanesiensis represent the original stocks in 
this area. From these have been derived the 
typical race of melanesiensis in the northern 
New Hebrides, folicola of Espiritu Santo and 
rotumana of Rotuma Island. The dispersal 
within the New Hebrides has probably been 
accomplished largely through natural means 
although, within recent times, it has un- 
doubtedly been influenced by movements of 
human populations. On the other hand, it 
seems improbable that Rotuma Island has 
been reached through natural means, for the 
distance involved appears too great and there 
is no geological evidence of former inter- 
mediate island arcs; furthermore it is known 
that Rotumans visited the New Hebrides 
several times in the past. 
Ecology 
Other than brief notes on habitats, con- 
sidered under each species, little information 
is available on the larval ecology of the com- 
plex. Miss E. Cheesman (1952, in lit.) ob- 
served larger larvae of the "palm-bract” race 
of melanesiensis feeding on smaller ones as well 
as on dead flies but she never observed this 
behavior in Araucaria breeders. 
Adults of melanesiensis have been reported 
resting near breeding places and on tree 
trunks and not attacking man on Espiritu 
Santo in the New Hebrides (Knight, in lit.; 
Perry, 1946: 14). Miss Cheesman {loc. cit .) 
reports being bitten on two occasions by 
Araucaria breeders but never by "palm-bract” 
breeders. No information is available for the 
other species. 
Larval Characters 
The caledonica complex, as understood here, 
is difficult to characterize in the fourth instar 
larva but the following features are shared by 
the majority of the forms: 
Head: About as wide as long; maxillary 
suture well developed; dorsal hairs single or 
with a few branches; hairs 0,3-C minute, 
placed on lower surface; 4-7 -C placed far 
forward; 8-C only slightly cephalad of 9-C; 
11-13-C far forward and close together; 15-C 
near occipital border, multiple. Antenna 
slender, about five or six times as long as 
wide, concave laterally; 1-A arising at about 
0.6 or distad. 
Thorax: 0,1,3,4,7,8,13,14-P usually stellate 
(except in caledonica)\ 2,5,6,10,12-P single; 
9-P usually multiple; 11-P single or branched; 
I- 3 -P and 5,6-P on common tubercles; 
1,8,13,14-M usually stellate (except in cale- 
donica) \ 2-7,10,12-M single; 9-M multiple; 
II- M single or branched; 6,7-M on common 
tubercle; 7-M long, thin; 1,4,5,8,13-T usually 
stellate (except in caledonica ); 2,3,6,10,12-T 
single; 7-T single to triple, spine-like or hair- 
like; 9-T multiple; 11-T single or branched; 
7,8-T on common tubercle. 
Abdomen: 0,14-II-VI, 1,2,5,9,10,13-I-VII 
usually stellate (except in caledonica ); 1 1 -II— 
VII, 3,4,12-I-VII always single; 0,8,11,14-1 
absent; comb plate not developed; 1-VIII 
usually stellate (except in caledonica) ; 1-S well 
differentiated from la-S. 
All the features of the larval morphology, 
except perhaps the head capsule, show a great 
deal of variation, individual, ecological and 
racial, in melanesiensis , but in the other three 
species they have become fixed within rather 
narrow limits. Particularly variable in melane- 
siensis are the length of the siphon, number 
of pecten teeth and comb scales, length of 
anal gills, and development of stellate tufts, 
metathoracic spine and accessory siphonal 
hairs. 
Pupal Characters 
It is impossible to generalize on the pupal 
characters of the complex since very little 
material is available. All the male pupae ex- 
