New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-18
PIE MOSQUITOES TOOL BOY.
SUBJECT OF CONTEMPoRANEOUs HUMAN
INTEREST.
From The Detroit Tribune.

From The Detroit Tribune.
This is the season when the mosquitoes are COM
Ing to town They ride in wagons are blown
In by the wind and swarm in on freight cars cling
Ing TO the SIDES OF the car and taking free ride
anywhere and everywhere. At tho West Detroit
With Is sfn ike see"
new style OF paint; and as soon az the car comes
to the city Detroit's liberal supply Of mosquitoes
is recruited from the River Rouge and from the
marshes of Sandwich, and there being no duty on
quickly evade the customs authorities and ny over
The tool box Of the mosquito is really wonder
ful concern. and contains no less than six distinct
Of the most delicate pattern, spear. with double
barbed head; needle or drill OF exquisite fnencss
Of and pump nensss
perfect pattern make 1t one of the marvels of ma
ture:
When mosquito starts to draw blood he does so
IN scientific way Before anything further Is said
are of the female gender only. She takes her
double headed spear. then. and labs II in the flesh
and inserts II In the wound and proceeds 10 cut n
hole for. the Introduction OF the delicate suction
pump. II the hole Is not large enough. the saw is
brought into action. and slit IL taken out Of the
There are about thirty varieties of mosquito in
the United States. The eggs are long oval objects
are DEPOSITED i on the mater IN s and STICK
pour tons Of water over them. and they would stll
boatlike shape concavc about. q sort OF miniature
ifeboat, so constructed that no capszing can take
place.
In a few days the eggs hatch and the arva drops
into the water. head downward. As the mosquito
is an ar-breathing insect, you would naturally
think that II would drown. with it's head sub
merged In this helpless way; but nature has pro-
vfded II with a curious and useful air tube, pro-
tecting from one side Of the tail. that when il
wishes to breathe lifts It's tail and draws afr
the special tube. Meantime II goes floating over
the water. biting at all kinds OF refuse with Its
strong swapping jaws.
Next. Mrs Mosquito turns a somersault and could
pose the skeleton woman In the dime mus
parent. the tail grows quickly into double pa ddle
used In sculing over the water. After sklmrnIne
about for month the wings begin to grow and
Mrs Mosquito is ready 10 enter the aerial stage Of
her existence.
Gnats and mosquitoes are not without their sba re
Of aesthetic pleasures. Sensitive to sounds invcst-
gators have repeatedly called down whole swarms
OF gnats by giving a particular note. The male and
female mosquito attract each other by hummlnx
noise, made by the vibration OF the hairs OF their
antennae.
The mosquito Is a scavenger OF ceaseless activity
How much good ne does Is not easy 10 determine
but certain II Is that he has his place IN the scheme
OF nature. Mosquitoes ere found the whole
earth. Travellers writing from Siberia have often
dwell on the terrible hummlng OF the millions of
mosquitoes that assaed them constantly; Mungo
park tells Of billions and billions OF m0squitoes
ferrifylng even the most torpid negro; Humboldt
rei,,ss tfe sufrerlngs OF the natives the upper
IrInoco River saying that they sigh TO live In the
moon where perchance there are mosquitoes;
Wallace telling of travels on the Amazon relates
the astonishing fact that Immediately after sun
dnun the nos1uitoes come out OF the swamps in
su,h millions ard millions that the natives make
practice OF burying themselves In the sand over
night up TO their necks, covering their heads with
leaves. wood or bark.