Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-08-17
II A MOSQUITO.
NOW THE SHARP BILLED LITTLE
PESTS ARE BRED.

Puddle an Inch Deep II Sometimes
Good Enough For Them-The Insects
Development From the Egg to the Com
plete state-what They Are Made For.
An interesting work on the mosquito is
dragon Flies Versus Mosquitoes, % a col
lection OF essays edited by DIR. Robert Fl.
Lamborn. 1t was the result Of an investi-
cation for methods of destroying the mos
quito. The general conclusion Of those
who contribute to it Is that the dragon fly,
which Is very ornamental, is also of the
greatest value as destroyer Of mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes breed commonly in stagnan
waters. Almost anything damp, however,
will serve them. They have been found
in numbers in a puddle of water 8 inches
square and 1 inch deep. They swarm in
the holes made by hoofs in boggy pastures.
Cutters and bitches In gardens are ~favorite
places. They have even been known to
breed in great number in the cellars OF
houses.
Three or four weeks are required to per-
feet the change from the egg to the COM
plete insect. The female carefully selects
a place where there will be sufficient water
~ IUhb bilcIH uuFl1R tHhb pcTlOu.
Finding some floating shred Of straw,
stick or other support" says a naturalist,
1.-THE expectant mother rests her two fore
legs on this, allows the next pair gently to
touch the water and crosses the third pair
behind to form q sort Of wise In which to
hold the eggs as they are deposited. Then
a long oval egg is lodged in the angle
formed by the crossed legs, with its longer
diameter vertical; another following 1t Is
glued on to the side OF the first In a similar
position, and so on till some 200 or 300 are
fastened In q sort Of q raft, or rather life
boat, as the mass is curved upward at each
end. Then the little vessel is abandoned
to the mercy OF the winds and wavelets,
and so floats about for a few days, benefit
Ing by sun and air, till the growing en-
bryos, finding their quarters too close, push
open n kind Of trapdoor In the floor of the
egg and take q dive at once into a watery
home"
The male mosquito, 1t appears, never
goes into houses except by accident, and
only drinks water. Blood sucking is an
acquired taste with the female.
= 1t has been calculated that there are 1875
species of mosquitoes, and that 40 of them
arc indigenous to this country. A great
many Of the species, however, are hardly
~distinguishable one from another.
The mosquito has q cosmopolitan distri-
button. She is supposed to have her para
disc In tropical countries, but she -four
ishes in Labrador. She affects low lying
positions, but lovers Of the Adirondack
mountains will recall visions of "smudges''
and cheesecloth canopies on rustic hunks
and battles with swarms Of culicidD amid
the ~soughing Of pines and the sweet fra
grance Of the balsam. She loves the in
terror, and many q veteran may recall the
days when he hunted prairie chickens on
the plains Of Illinois with mosquito net
ting round his hat and face.
The question has often been asked,
"What were mosquitoes made for?" If
those who nave specially studied the habits
Of tho insects are correct, they certainly
render important and useful service during
their larval stage by cleansing swamp
lands and stagnant pools from the miasms
which plague mankind with various forms
of fever.
Tho mosquitoes brief period of larval life
is divided between feeding upon micro or
ganisms, and occasional excursions to the
surface for u breath of air.
They reach their second stage by casting
off the larval skin and becoming pupa
In this stage they remain rolled up like n
ball, and float at the surface Of the water
for tho purpose of breathing through tho
two respiratory tubes on the top of their
backs. II disturbed by an unwonted agi
tation of the water, they suddenly uncurl
their bodies and whirl over and over from
side to side. This Turn Verein existence,
spent with no sustaining nutriment but
atmospheric air, terminates in the course
of q few days. Now tho little water tum-
blers are ready for another transformation.
The skin splits on the back between tho
breathing tubes and q little boat Is thus
formed, as gracefully curved at the bow
and poop as the imperial barge of Cleopa-
ira. Out of this fairy bark there suddenly
issues n winged creature. Tho head, the
body, tho limbs, burst from the opening
in tho hard skin. The slender legs are
raised on the edges of the empty bark I'M
til, spreading its wings and pluming itself
for flights in sunlight and air, the insect
rises, while by the reflex Of it's upward
bound its tiny bark is overset and sinks
beneath the wave.
There are two methods of limiting the
number Of mosquitoes, according to the
nant waters and the other is by cultivat-
ing certain species of dragon flies and spi-
ders which make it u business of killing
the venomous flies. Their suppression
would certainly add much to the happiness
of this nation and to the value of large
tracts of land.
Profesaional Smelling.