Morning journal and courier., 1883-09-28
Habits of the Mosquito.

A Talk with a Man Who has Spent Twen- ty Years With Them.
 From the Cincinnati Enquirer.I
 s'I have devoted twenty years to 8 study of the habits of mosquitoes, and curious lot of creatures they are" He was 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 furrows in his nose. But a bright chirrupy little fellow, witha3. He had on musty black suit and big collar. He was in the rear room of the second floor of 119 East Market street. strange little den of room it was. The walls were hung with all kinds of insects; the tables and chairs and bureau were all covered with them. Classy eyed beetles glared from between golden winged butterflies, and odd looking little round bugs were wedged into all sorts of out of the way places.
 "I am writing a book on mosquitoes" con- tinued he, after the excitement had died out of his face. II am going to call it Twenty Years Among Mosquitoes by William P. Drieffeld, and will tell these scientific fel- lows thing or two. l have what call hatchery over there in the corner, and make all sorts of experiments with them. You see 1t looks like tube and has little water in the bottom. Now if you look closely you will see that large mosquito in the corner there, separated little from that coyey of sabethes there no, not that one with the red belt, the one next to him. That is female, and a finer specimen never lived. She is three years old, and at the least calculation has had 10, GOO children.
 "I never let the air of this room far below seventy degrees Fahrenheit, and I find that with this temperature the average life of 8 healthy mosquito is five years, nine months and fifteen days. I have one old maid who is ten years old. His proboscis is useless lyzed, think-and his eyes have long since become useless to him. His antennss have dropped of, and of the six sharp bristles within his sucking proboscts, which he had when I caught him, not one remains. He couldn't even bite a child" /" continued the old man, mournfully looking over toward where the gray veteran sat on the edge of the tub.
 But was going to call your attention to Aspasia. Your eyes are young and probably you can see how her legs are crossed in the form of an X. You doubtless see some tiny objects attached to this cross and wedged to- gether, almost completely covering the inter space between her legs. If you had a micro scope these objects would appear as little jugs with handles. They are eggs When Aspasia has laid $50 of them her legs will uncrogs 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. I could tell"you much of the trans formations from one stage Of being to an- other, moro beautiful and strange under the microscope than all the pageantry of tour nament during the crusades. could tell of how their skins change four times, of that marvellous mechanism that an al1-wise crea- tor has arranged more perfect than the most finished work of man, of their queer manner of breathing that causes them to tumble, of the glorious resurrection when the transpa- rent covering of the pupa breaks and the perfect mosquito with wings and legs and all lis wonderful anatomy steps forth to conquer and to die''