Distribution of Anopheles. 
117 
species, A. maculipennis and A. bifurcatus, are not nearly so 
sanguinary as members of the genus "Culex. Some species, such 
as A. maculipennis, seldom attack animals or man, as far as 
I can gather, in England, and personally I have never known 
it bite any human being, although I live where it often occurs 
in great numbers. Yet in Italy Grassi tells us it is one of 
the chief factors in distributing malaria. Its near neighbour, 
A. bifurcatus , is at times most vicious in England. This genus, 
although of more practical importance than Culex, Stegomyia , 
&c., in connection with the role it plays in the spread of malaria, 
is not nearly so annoying as the members of the latter genera, 
which supply by far the greater number of our house-forms of 
“ mosquitoes.” Anopheles are not as a rule abundant domestic 
insects, but such species as A. maculipennis, A. argyrotarsis, and 
A. Itossii are found indoors in numbers. The females bite both 
day and night. 
Distribution of Anopheles. —The distribution of Anopheles 
and malaria is a subject of great interest. Professor Nuttall 
tells me that in England the distribution of A. maculipennis 
and A. bifurcatus compares fairly well with the old distribution 
of ague. At the same time Anopheles occur in districts where 
no ague has existed. 
In those countries where malarial fever is rife the collections 
of mosquitoes received by the Museum have always contained 
many Anopheles , with one notable exception, namely Victoria. 
For instance, they occur in very large numbers on the West 
Coast of Africa, in Central Africa, in large numbers in 
the Malay Peninsula, in certain of the West Indies, and 
in India. 
It does not of course follow because Anopheles are present 
that malaria is present, but where the latter occurs Anopheles 
have in all cases but one been shown to exist in numbers. 
Amongst the small collection of mosquitoes sent from Victoria, no 
Anopheles are included, but a series of Stegomyia fasciata bears a 
label, c< abundant in the malarious districts of the uplands of 
Victoria.” Four species of Anopjheles , however, occur in Australia, 
and may have been overlooked in this colony, particularly as 
the collection only contains three species, which number would 
probably be greatly increased on a further examination of the 
district. From Mauritius, where malaria is rife, the collection 
only contained a few poor specimens of Culex , but four species 
