Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-10-03
HABITS OF TIE MOSQUITO.

90 have devoted twenty years to study
of the habits of mosquitoes, and curious
lot of creatures they are" He was a
withered-up, yellow-faced, parchment =
skinned little man, with bright little eyes
peering out of big ugly glasses that had
been worn so long as to make deep burrows
in his nose. But a bright, chirrupy little
fellow, withal. He had on musty black
suit and big collar. He was in the rear
room of the second floor of ll9 East Mar
ket street. A strange little den of room
it was. The walls were hung with all kinds
OF insects the tables and chairs and bu-
reau were all covered with them. Classy
eyed beetles glsred from between golden
winged butterflies, and odd looking little
round bugs were wedged into all sorts of
out-of. the-way places.
90 l am writing a book on mosquitoes,
continued he, after the excitement had died
out of his face. 81 am going to call
Twenty Years Among Mosquitoes, by
William P. Driefeld, and l will tell these
scientific fellows thing or two. have
what l call a hatchery over there in the
corner, and make all sorts of expert
ments with them. You see it looks
like tube, and has little water in the
bottom. Now if you look closer you will
see that large mosquito in the corner there,
separated little from that covey of sa-
bethes there no, not that one with the
red belt, the one next to him. That is a
female, and finer specimen never lived.
She is three years old, and at the least cal
culation has had $1,000 children.
81 never let the air this room fall be-
low 70' Fahrenheit, and l find that with
this temperature the average life of a
healthy mosquito is five years, nine months
and fifteen days. have one old male who
is ten years old. His proboscis is useless
-paralyzed, l think-and his eyes have
long since become useless to him. His an
tenn@ have dropped off, and of the six
sharp brlstles within his sucking probos-
els, which he had when l caught him, not
one remains He couldn't even bite a
child" continued the old man. mournfully
looking over toward where the gray vet
eran sat on the edge of the tub
But | was going on to call your atten-
tion to Aspasia. Your eyes are young and
probably you can see how her legs recrossed
in the form OF an X You doubtless see
some tiny objects attached to this cross and
wedged together, almost completely cover
ihE WIG AhlSiSp aC6 DCbNe6u neE legs. Ii you
had microscope these objects would appear
as little jugs with handles. They ARE eggs.
When Aspasia has laid $50 of them her
legs will uncross and the eggs will float
away like raft. These eggs produce those
wigglers you see over in that corner, and
they in turn change to the tumblers you
find below your hand there. have little
glass strips, as you see, to divide them.
could tell you much of the transformations
from one stage OF being to another, more
beautiful and strange under the microscope
than all the pageantry of tournament dur.
ing the Crusades. I could tell of how their
skins change four times, of that mysterious
mechanism that an All-wise Creator has
arranged more perfect than the most I'm.
ished work of man, of their queer manner
of breathing that causes them to tumble
of the glorious resurrection when the
transpar ent covering of the pupa breaks
and the perfect mosquito, with wings anG
legs and all its wonderful anatomy, step
forth to conquer and die. [Cincinnat
Enquirer.