The Saint Paul globe., 1904-12-18
MOSQUITO FIGHTERS
SEE QUEER V|GcLERS
New York Furnished Entertain
ing Exhibits for the
National Society

NEW YORK, Dec. 17.-One session
of the recent second annual convention
of the National Mosquito Extermina-
ton society was held at the New York
AQUARIUM. The Aquarium was deem
I'D to be an appropriate place for the
meeting of the convention because the
mosquito during one period of its ex-
fstence, in it's larval stage, is crea-
ture of aquatic life, and because here
are to be seen fishes of the species that
feed on the mosquito larvae and that
may be made useful in the work OF
mosquito determination. And then the
AQUARIUM authorities had already done
something to further this work by
means of exhibits, with informing Ia
bells.
There were shown here during the
summer jars containing mosquitoes in
Is ahe various forms of their develop
ment, from the egg, through the lar
vac, or wiggler, stage into the COM
plete winged mosquito. The labels de-
scribed briefly the mosquitoes life his
tory and told of it's breeding places and
how, in some measure at least, the pest
of mosquitoes might be avoided.
The Aquarium had for this conven-
wrigglers brought into life and actiY-
ity out of ice. These are the larvae
Of a species of mosquito, aedeS fuScuS,
which lays it's eggs in water in the
hollow, pitcherlike receptacle that
forms a part of the pitcher plant. The
pitcher of the pitcher plant is of about
the capacity of a thimble.
This mosquito lays it's eggs in sum-
rner in the little water filled vases of
the pitcher plant, and there they hatch
out into wigglers, these in due time
developing into mosquitoes. But the
larvae of this mosquito that may be
caught in the cups when freezing
weather comes on in the fall are not
killed by their Imprisonment in ice in
them through the winter. They live
through it, frozen up in the little Jumps
of ice in the plants, to develop finally
into mosquitoes when summer comes
again.
These wigglers were received at the
Aquarium imbedded in the little
chunks of ice taken from the pitcher
plants in which the eggs were depos-
tied in summer, at a point in New Jer-
sey. Here they were melted out grad
ually, and they soon showed signs of
!. life, and now they are active.
They are kept in cool place and
partly shaded. If the shade is removed
they seek the darker part of the jar in
which they are kept. Let the shade be
replaced and they will seek the darkest
part.
- Of ordinary mosquitoes the males die
In winter, a proportion of the females
surviving through that season in shell
5otered, sunny places and in the attfcs
of houses and in barns, and many get
through the winter in cellars. In Alas
ka, where mosquitoes are so numerous,
it is evident that but few adult mos
quitoes could find such places to win
ter as are found by the mosquitoes of
more thiekly peopled ATTITUDES, and so
far as is known the great majority of
the Alaskan mosquitoes must perish
in winter in the cold of that region.
But it may be that the Alaskan mos
quito winters in its larval stage, re-
tanning life though frozen up solid in
ice, as do the larvae of the New Jersey
mosquito that keep alive here, frozen
up in the ice contained in the little
cups Of the pitcher plant
AT the sessions papers were read on
the subject of the mosquito, and the
question was considered in it's various
bearings. The objects of the National
Mosquito determination society are de-
clared to be education, legislation, CO.
operation. interchange of ideas"