Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-07-25

A BIOGRAPHY OF THE MoSoUITo.-Il
the mosquito were a very rare insect,
found only in some far off country, we
should look upon it as one of the most
curious of living creatures, and read its
history with wonder-that an animal
could live two such very different lives,
one in the water the other in the air. We
speak of the mosquito as if there were but
one, while in reality there are over thirty
different kinds, all, however, having SINH.
lar habits, so that a description of one
answers for all. The female mosquito
lays her eggs ON the water. She forms a
little boat, gluing the eggs together side
by side until she has from $50 to $50 thus
fastened together at the ends, and it floats
away merrily for few days. The eggs
then hatch and the young mosquito enters
the water, where the early part of its
life is to be passed. You can find the
young insects in this, their larval stage,
in pools of fresh water, or even in a tub OF
rain water which has been standing uncov-
cred fer few days. They are called
wrigglers, on account of the droll way in
which they jerk about through the water
They feed upon very minute creatures,
and also upon decaying vegetable matter
Near the tail the wriggler has a tube
through which it breathes. If you ap-
proach the pool or tub very quietly, you
can see them in great numbers. head
downward, with their breathing tube
above the surface. If you make the
least disturbance, they will scamper down
into deep water. After wrigglng about
for two weeks and changing their skins
several times, the larva becomes a pupa.
You know that more insects in the pupa
state do not move but take a sleep of
greater or less length. Not SO the lively
little mosquito. In its pupa state it
becomes big beaded creature which does.
not eat. 1t moves about quite rapidly
but not with the same wriggling motion
it now has pair of paddles at its tail end,
and takes in air through tubes near its
head. In five or ten days the mosquito
ends its life in the water, and becomes a
winged insect. The pupa comes to the
surface, and the skin cracks upon the
back, allowing first its head and chest to
come FORTH and finally the legs, wings
and the rest. This is most trying
moment in the life of the insect; if a
slight puff of wind should upset it before
the wings are dry, it will surely drown
only small proportion of the whole
number succeed in safely leaving the pupa
case, the greater share becomes food for
the fishes. If the wings once get fairly
dry, then the insect can sail away, hum
ming its song of gladness. How does il
sing? Perhaps when you heard its note
at night you did not stop to consider. 1t
is point which has puzzled many nat.
uralists, and it is not certainly known
how the note is produced, but probably
the rapid motion of the wings, and the
vibration of the muscles of the chest are
both concerned in it. The most interest.
idg part about the insect-the Cuisines
part as some one has called it's its
sting or sucker. This is not simple
sharp pointed tube, but consists of six
parts which lay together in sheath, ant
are used as one. How sharp these mus
be to go through our skin so easily! After
the puncture is made, it then acts as q
sucker to draw up the blood. The insec
which visits us is the female. We rarely
see the male mosquito. Blood is not
necessary to the existence of the mosquito
and probably but share of them evel
taste it. The countries in which mosqui
toes live in greatest numbers-actual
clouds are not inhabited. and there are
but few animals.-Agricutturist.