The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-03-22
TWIN-sCREW sKEETERs.
Terror That Will Make New Jersey
Life Lively.
From the Philadelphia Record.


From the PHILADELPHIA Record.
NEWARK, N. j., March 16.-A new curse
has come upon New Jersey In the shape of
twin-screw, or doubIe-end mosquito.
This insect, bird. or brute. variously called
by the natives, has the ferocity Of dozen
ordinary Jersey mosquitoes, has two heads
and an instrument of torture at either end
four wings, twelve legs, and It Is believed
that 1t lives entirely on human and animal
blood. it seems to have appeared
first in the salt meadows between
Newark and Jersey City, and within
bred IN other parts Of the state. Two weeks
ago party Of hunters were out on the
Hackensack meadows looking for duck
when a swarm Of these strange new Great
ures arose from the grass and few In the
air. They were 100 feet from the hunters.
AS they few there was a sound almost as
loud as the whirring of the wings OF lot OF
quail, but it was on a higher and more
piercing key. 1t startled the hunters. The
insects were about the size of the ordinary
locust. and some of the hunters thought 1t
possible that that was what they were.
They made straight for the hunters.
1T HAS TWO BLOOD SUCKERS.
Two of the men raised their guns and fired
loads of duck shot into the swaam, killing
at least 100 The rest of the swarm stopped
short and then made for the tracks of the
Pennsylvania railroad, where G party of
nearly dozen tramps were slouching along.
TIE hunters watched them AMI could see
them settle down about the heads OF the
tramps. A moment afterward loud cries
we're heard and the tramps fed down the
track toward Newark, the swarm following
them. The hunters pushed on to where the
killed and injured insects had fallen
and gathered up lot that
had been merely stunned by the
shot and brought them to Jersey City as
curiosties Some of them were given to
Prof. George Hume, the famous entomolo.
gist Of 35 Newark avenue, Jersey City. He
searched through all his books, bat could
find no record of any insect even remotely
resembling this except the mosquito. aud
curlously enough, the mosquito resembled
exactly one-half. Cut the insect in the
center and it would make two perfectly
good mosquitoes. The professor de.
| cided to call the insect O twin
screw mosquito because it had two blood
suckers, and it will hereafter appear in the
books under that name. The professors in
vestigatious and examinations have beer
exhaustive, and he intends writing a
treatise on the insect for a scientific paper
He had about completed his work on the in
sect he had dissected when reporter called
on him yesterday afternoon, and he con
sented to tell a great deal that he had
learned, as well as to permit an artist tt
make copies Of sketches he had made.
WHAT THE TERROR IS LIKE.
"This insect with which have just go;
through" said the professor, "is female.
Now, to begin with, found two perfectly
formed mosquitoes, but with undeniably
one body. There were two heads, -four
eyes, twelve legs, two mouths, and such
mouths rll just begin the description with
the mouths. They are exactly alike. They
consist, each, of two groups Of appendage1
the elements of punctuation and suction, with
which are connected adjustments for the
secretion and emission of poison, and the
parts which inclose these and form around
them a natural sheath. The first group em.
braces the epipharynx, the hypopharynx
two mandibles, and two maxillae; and the
second group comprises the labrum and the
labium, which receives them into a groove
on its upper side. The epipharynx il
slightly attached to the labrum, and this
combination, termed the labrum epiphar.
ynx, tapers uniformly from the base to the
apex. 1t forms an unfinished tube, being
completed along its inferior surface by the
oppression of the hypopharynx to the mar
row slit between its separated edges
The channel thus made is the ave.
nue. by which Inc DIOO0 OF It's victim
passes to the oesophagus, which is the
-pharyngeal passage. and acts like @
suction pump for the Inhibition of the nour.
ishing liquids. being expanded into bulb
behind valvular construction of the phar.
ynx. When the combined parts of the sur
gical group Of instruments are entering the
human akin they pass between the opened
angle Of the spread labellae. while the Ia
blum itself is seen to be fiexing backward
in its middle, the labelle holding the clus
tered file setB as they pass inward through
the tissues of the victimi
TO TORTURE MANKIND.
"This,n said the professor. sis the descrip
ton of each of the mouths of this twin
screw mosquito. Now about the poison
glands There were two of them. The
description of one does for the other. The
hypopharynx, which acts as the poison
fang, is connected with poison duct which
has two branches running backward into
the prothorax. The secreting glands are ir
two paired systems, one on each side OF the
prothorax. Each system consists OF
three trifoliate glands, the mid-gland being
poisonous and the lateral salivery. the
three ductules uniting into the branch of
| the poison duct of its own side.
snow you have the essential parts of this
terrible insect, you can tell from the de-
scription have given something of the
torture that it can inflict on mankind"