100 
UTATiARTA 
and although Beattie (1932) records it 
from Trinidad, Komp showed that this 
record is probably erroneous, in which 
F. W. Edwards concurs (Komp 1937b, 
1940b). 
As King (1937) has pointed out, its dis¬ 
tribution shows that A. albimanus is essen¬ 
tially a mosquito of hot, humid climates. 
Although outside of the area covered by 
this Symposium, it is of interest to consider 
briefly the distribution of A. albimanus in 
northern South America, where, for no 
apparent reason, we find the southern limit 
of its range. Campos’ record from Guaya¬ 
quil, Ecuador, has been confirmed by King 
and Stone, who examined the male termi- 
nalia of Campos’ specimens (King 1937). 
Komp (1937b) says it occurs for some dis¬ 
tance up the Magdalena River in Colombia, 
but Antunes (1937) did not include it in 
his list of species from the interior of Co¬ 
lombia (Intendancia of Meta). In these 
western countries the mountains and cli¬ 
mate may form a natural barrier to a 
southward extension of the A. albimanus 
range. In Venezuela, Gabaldon (1938, 
1939a) has taken A. albimanus in large 
numbers in certain localities on or near the 
coast, but not in others farther inland. 
Gabaldon states that the eastern limit of the 
range is Carupano; Komp (1937b) could 
not find it near the mouth of the San Juan 
River, in the Orinoco drainage. 
A. albimanus breeds in a great variety of 
water collections, either fresh or brackish, 
and the chief requisite for breeding seems 
to be an abundance of sunlight. During the 
rainy season it is found in rain pools'; other 
favored breeding places are seepages, irriga¬ 
tion ditches (Earle 1930b), and quiet, sun¬ 
lit waters of lakes, backwashes of streams, 
swamps, and ponds. Hoffmann (1938c) 
says that the breeding water must be in a 
biological equilibrium, exposed to sun, and 
rich in microorganisms but without putre¬ 
faction ; as these conditions are more apt to 
exist in permanent and semi-permanent 
water collections, temporary rain pools are 
not suitable for breeding at the beginning 
of the rainy season, but require time to de¬ 
velop a biological equilibrium. In larger 
bodies of water A. albimanus larvae must 
find protection from fish in various types of 
floating aquatic vegetation. Of these the 
Characeae, TJtricularia, and Naias are espe¬ 
cially favorable, when the water level is 
such that these plants can form thick mats 
on the surface. In these mats A. albimanus 
larvae not only are protected from their 
enemies, but find enough food to enable 
them to breed in tremendous numbers. In 
the Canal Zone, Curry (1934) has described 
the great abundance of the larvae among 
these plants during the dry season, when 
the level of Gatun Lake drops several feet, 
allowing the plants to reach the surface of 
the water and form extensive mats. Hoff¬ 
man (1930, 1940) collected larvae in crab 
holes in Haiti, Nevis, and Montserrat; the 
water in these crab holes was as low as two 
feet below the surface of the ground. Per¬ 
haps the species becomes adapted to these 
unusual breeding places during periods of 
drought. Certain artificial water collec¬ 
tions may become favorable breeding 
places; thus in the dry coastal areas of the 
northern part of the Peninsula of Yucatan, 
A. albimanus is dependent for its existence 
upon the tanks, water troughs, and similar 
artificial containers that are used for the 
storage of water near the villages (Hoff¬ 
mann 1938a), while Clark (1932) found 
larvae in barrels and troughs in which algae 
were growing on the bottom and sides. In 
Cuba, water is piped from the hills to all 
parts of the Preston Division of .the United 
Fruit Company, and excess water from 
the terminal pipes forms “water-faucet” 
drains, which were ideal for A. albimanus 
breeding (Malaret 1929). Kumm, Komp 
and Ruiz (1940) call attention to their dis¬ 
covery of larvae in an iron drum full of 
rain water. 
The adult is a strong flier. In Panama, 
towards the close of the dry season, a sud¬ 
den rise occurs in the number of adults 
found in sanitated areas. Curry (1934) 
believes that these mosquitoes originate in 
the mats of aquatic plants far away in 
Gatun Lake; therefore they must be able to 
fly 12 miles or more. Curry does not con¬ 
sider this to be a single, sustained flight, 
