585 
writer  is  aware,  there  were  no  cases  oi  malaria  reported  amongst  the 
inhabitants,  although  the  latter  are  derived  from  many  parts  of  ligypl, 
•ind  include  also  Europeans  from  India,  the  Southern  Sudan,  etc. 
One  might  reasonably  expect,  therefore,  that  some  cases  of 
malaria  would  occur  among  such  a  population,  and  that  in  the  presence 
of  abundance  of  supposed  carriers  {C.  pharoensis)  an  outbreak  of 
malaria  would  occur,  but  this  was  not  so.^ 
One  result  of  the  collecting  work  carried  out  during  the  past  two 
autumn  seasons  (1908-1909),  has  shown  Cellia  pharoensis  to  be  an 
extremely  common  Anopheline  in  the  environs  of  Cairo  (it  is  believed 
to  be  the  common  Anopheline  of  Egypt).  The  apparent  rarit}', 
however,  of  malaria  in  this  country,  according  to  medical  men,  has 
raised  doubts  in  the  writer's  mind  as  to  the  exact  role  played  by  Cellia 
pharoensis  as  a  malaria  carrier.  Is  this  species  a  bad  carrier,  or  a 
carrier  at  all?;  or  is  the  malaria  carrier  of  Egypt  some  other  much 
less  common  species  of  Anopheline  which  has  so  far  been  overlooked  ? 
Other  Anophelines  arc  also  found  in  Eg)’pt. 
With  regard  to  the  question  of  the  apparent  rarity  of  malaria  in 
the  environs  of  Cairo  one  fact  must  not  be  lost  sight  of,  namely,  that 
the  mosquito  in-\'asion  takes  place  late  in  the  year,  and  lasts  a  short 
time  only— tw'o  or  three  months — and,  moreover,  does  not,  so  far  as  is 
knowm,  occur  every  year,  but  would  appear  to  be  dependent  on  the 
height  of  the  Nile  flood.  It  is  possible  that  this  has  some  bearing  on 
the  problem. 
The  habits  of  Cellia  pharoensis  are  of  interest.  This  species  may 
be  classed  as  a  '  domestic  mosquito  ’  both  in  the  larval  and  adult 
stages,  but  at  present  it  is  not  known  how  far  away  from  human 
habitations  Cellia  will  breed.  The  adults  enter  houses  in  order  to 
obtain  blood.  In.  the  open  the  females  appear  to  bite  most  viciously 
at  sunset ;  their  bite  being  rather  painful  compared  with  that  of  the 
common  Culicine,  Ciilex  fatigans. 
The  aerial  dances  performed  by  male  mosquitoes  at  sunset  are 
perhaps  worthy  of  note.  The  males  of  Cnlex,  spp.  dance  in  columnar 
form,  well  in  the  open,  or  in  some  cases,  near  or  above  bushes,  and  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  feet  from  the  ground.  Thousands  of  individuals 
may  be  present  in  one  of  these  dances,  all  in  extremely  rapid 
movements  of  limited  range.  They  produce  a  very  audible  hum. 
The  males  of  Cellia  pharoensis  dance  as  a  rule  in  the  open,  but  much 
='=In  Novembei,  1909,  However,  one  solitary  ca.se  of  malaria  occurred  in  a  cowman 
employed  in  the  grounds  of  tbe  ICliedevial  Agricultural  Society. 
