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A Monograph of Culicidae. 
are outdoor species. Some, apparently, live chiefly in woods, 
others prefer dark lanes; but few seem to show any preference 
for sunlight. 
Siegomyia fasciata , one of the most annoying and wide¬ 
spread mosquitoes, is a most vicious biter in the early after¬ 
noon, from about 1 to 3 p.m. ; but Dr. St. George Gray adds, 
“ I have caught them at all hours of the day, and even night.” 
The majority of mosquitoes bite during the evening and night, 
from about an hour before sunset. This, however, is by no 
means always the case. Sir William MacGregor says * : “ I first 
saw Anopheles on the afternoon of the first day we visited the 
west coast of British New Guinea. We all had sufficient 
exjDerience of it before night, for it is not the case that Anopheles 
bites only at night, nor That its puncture is always painless.” 
I have noticed that A. bifurcatus bites just as viciously during the 
day as at night. Culex dorsalis , often a pest in England, bites 
during the daytime. At Rochester, where I observed it in 
Colonel Newington’s garden in August, it was attacking every¬ 
one, except myself, with severity, at four in the afternoon. 
Other species are day biters, and these, and such other points 
of interest, are mentioned with the description of each indi¬ 
vidual species. We must not be led away with the erroneous 
idea that Anopheles and Culex bite only at night. 
When resting Culex are particularly fond of hiding under 
tables, chairs, &c., in the Tropics, from whence they come out 
and make repeated attacks on the ankles. Draperies of various 
kinds afford them protection during the hotter hours of the day, 
folds of bed-hangings and curtains being mentioned as the most 
favourite resorts. Regarding Stegomyia fasciata, Dr. St. George 
Gray writes in a letter to Mr. Austen (July 21, 1899), that 
“ in the mornings it rests on the walls and clothing—especially 
dark clothing—where they are easily caught.” Giles says 
mosquitoes have a tendency to leave houses to seek vegetable 
food at dusk, and again retreat to them shortly after sunrise. 
This statement does not tally with general information, but 
coming from such an accurate observer entitles it to respect. 
The majority of people will tell you that in the Tropics 
mosquitoes bite more of a night, hence the use of the invaluable 
mosquito curtain. Night is the time when both Culex and 
Anopheles cause most annoyance, from an hour or so before 
sunset to a short time after sunrise. But protection during 
* Journal Tropical Medicine, Oct. 1900, p. 68. 
