Evening star., 1928-06-09
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

ouitoes in each box counted at the end
Of II days In the navy blue box there
were lO8. (They want strong navy
Red attracted 90 (bolshevistsD reddish
brown. 81: forget-me-not blue only 3,
and yellow none.
There are no pacifsts among mos
ouitoes-not one yellow"
All that President Coolidge needs to
drive them out of camp Is 70 "gild the
refined gold" Of his fishing button show
ing him to be licensed to fish, for they
Zee from yellow. He should wear either
his Mandarin robe Of yellow silk or a
khaki uniform One traveller reports
that he had dark blue tent IN Pales-
tine. and 1t so attracted mosquitoes that
no human was every able TO sleep In II.
DIR. Durham, while investigating mos
uuitoes and yellow fever In Brazil. wore
yellow ocher socks, and he noted that
ne was not bitten on the ankles. while
his associates were badly nipped. An
other scientific test OF color preferences
OF Anopheles punctipennis and macuii-
pennis has been recorded. The mos
containing samples of Josephs coat, and
for several days the number OF mos
uuitoes that perched upon the various
colors was counted. Result: Dark red,
81: dark blue, 81: black. Al. white, 4:
pale green, q; light pink, l yellow, o.
Again the paciflstS win--there are no
mosquitoes on the ''yellows." Only gen.
tlemen prefer blondes; mosquitoes hate
them.
In very recent years science has proved
that malaria and yellow fever are trans
mitted by the bites of mosquitoes. but
the suspicion of that fact has existed
for centuries, and even among savage
tribes According TO Humboldt. the in
habitantS of the Upper Orinoco. at the
time of his visit there tmore than
century ago), accused the mosquitoes Of
Koch points out that the negroes OF the
Mschamba tribe. on Mount UsambaTa.
Africa. do not descend into the lower
regions on account OF the fear OF fever.
Fever. in their language. Is called
''mbu," and "mbu" is also their name
for mosquito.
All animals have their parasites. and
the parasites have their own parasites
ito bite EN-. and so on ad infinitem."
The mosquito is no exception. Not only
are they proved upon by bats, dragon
flies and spiders and birds. but By
mites.
DIR. Howard quotes a letter from Or.
E. p. Salmon OF Beloit. Wis. in which
II was stated that one OF these mites
attacks the mosquitoes Of Madeleine
Island--the largest of the Apostle Is
lands, go miles east of Brlhe-a few
weeks after their appearance In June,
and from the time the little red
creature appears under the mosquitds
wing the latter begins to lose Ms
strength After a few weeks. alopg
toward the end of July. the mosquito
ceases to be troublesome, and seems 10
be fighting his parasite for his life"
IS
There are hundreds Of varieties Of
known to science. Dr,
Howard regrets that during all Of 1875
only 36 new species were Identified. al
though In 1924 nifty papers we're pub
lished on this side Of culicidolORy tfne
new word from the science dictionary,
and In these papers many new species
we're described
lie adds: "A very interesting side
light ON the attitude OF these taxone-
miSts is shown In recent note received
from DR.. Dyar, in which he says: You
know there is nothing I like less than
killing mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are
the subject Of my interest, not their
absence, and SO l feel that all anti
mosquito work Is directly detrimental
10 my especial interest. l love to see
the mosquitoes In vast SwarmS and "
had my way all the oil would be poured
over the human exterminatorS,'
IL is proverbiai that many Americans.
when they die, hope 10 so to Paris, but
DR. Dyar probably hopes that when ne
dies he win be tied up In a New Jersey
swamp among his pets,
There are mosquitoes that feed only
on mankind. others which hate the IA
vuT OF human meat, The latter Il called
AnopheleS maeulipennis That bird"
refuses 10 enter u human hahitation,
Viye AnopheleS macullpennisl Around
Paris the former species, known as Gu
lex pipicns, habitually prefers French
man to a hulltlog or any other kind of
meat, In 1923 French scientist
brought 10 his home. near Parts. egsS
aud larvae ai seaShore CuleX plpienS,
and started veeding then where local
niplens had been breeding and feeding
on human victims A year later. ne
found that the impaired ones had
driven ont the local species, SO that the
searoast variety NOW held possession,
and they disdalned 10 feed ON man.
There Ia hint for Brule lei the 90
assistants Of President Coolidge carry
lrlmkfuls oi hardy ard thoroughbred
Jersey skeeterS M Into northern Wia-
rul,sin, this summer. aud the ehalsces
are 10 t0 that hy next year Prtaideht
Iiaalidge may sit upon the banks of the
stream aud tish aud whittle u his
lsaTts content wearing any ealor. "A ma
lell0w, and the only hilrS he win xet vii
ie az his worm bait,
tcepatlsht, iass. ~ faal v, cvlins.i