Genus Culex. 
391 
with white at the base ; hind metatarsi a little shorter than 
the tibiae. Fore, mid, and hind ungues equal, toothed. 
Wings with the veins covered with dark brown scales, some 
of which are moderately long ; first sub-marginal cell longer and 
narrower than the second posterior cell, its stem equal to a 
little more than half its length ; that of the second posterior 
cell not quite equal to the length of the cell ; posterior 
cross-vein nearly twice its own length distant from the mid 
cross-vein. 
Halteres with ochraceous stem and pale fuscous knob, 
sometimes all ochraceous. 
Length.— 5 to 5‘5 mm. 
£ . Antennae light brown, with pale silky brown plumes, 
basal joint black ; palpi dark brown, with two broad, basal, 
white bands on the second and third 
joints, and with white ones also to the 
last two, hairs dark brown, gold and 
yellowish ; abdominal segments with white 
basal bands, the last segment often with 
’ • ° Fig. 136. 
two white spots ; claspers black ; laterally Culex aiboannuiatus, Macq. 
there are numerous golden hairs, which Fore ungues of the 
also occur along the posterior borders of 
the segments. Fore ungues of the 9 unequal, the larger 
uniserrated, the smaller simple. 
Length. —5 to 5*5 mm. 
Habitat. —Bupengary, Queensland (Bancroft) (5. 12. 1899) ; 
Sydney (Thomson); Woronora and Blue Mountains, N.S. W. 
(Skuse and Masters) ; the Eastern Coast (Macquart). 
Time of appearance.—In New South Wales, Skuse gives 
October to^ January as the time of appearance. Captured in 
July in Queensland (Bancroft). 
Observations. —This species is subject to some variation, 
according to Skuse. The thoracic markings, which are very 
characteristic, soon go, only quite fresh specimens showing them. 
It cannot, however, be mistaken even with a denuded thorax 
for any other Australian species I have seen. I cannot agree 
with Skuse in placing Thomson’s C. camptorhynchus as a synonym 
of this gnat. It resembles C. vigilax, but the thoracic scales are 
narrow curved and golden-brown, whilst in C. vigilax they are 
flatter, spindle-shaped, and bronzy-black, and the ungues differ. 
The pale band on the femora at once separates it. 
