GENUS STEGOMYIA 377 9. STEGOMYIA AFRICANA, Theobald (Monog. I, p. 304). Veins of the wings with brown scales. Tarsi black with narrow basal white bands on the two upper joints of all the legs ; the hind legs only, with the third joint all white except just at the apex, the next with a narrow basal band and the last all black. Thorax (much denuded) with oblique lateral white bars, a spot at the root of the wings and traces of a median white spot in the <y . Abdominal segments black with fairly broad basal white bands ; and brilliant lateral snowy tufts (barely visible from above). Proboscis nearly black, unhanded.
Head black, with a pale spot of scales on the crown, and with long dark bristles ; eyes golden-green (in the sun) ; antennae pale brown ; basal jomts large ; proboscis deep brown, unhanded ; palpi of ? , dark brown, last joint with large pure white scales, of the ^ , black, its joints with four basal white bands, the two proximal ones much broader than the two apical, scutellum dark with a few white scales ; pleurae ferruginous with several white patches. Legs black. Halteres white with black knobs. Tarsal claws of ^ simple, but very unequal in the fore and mid legs ; of the ? subequal with an accessory tooth to each of the fore claws. Length. — 4*5 mm.
Habitat. — Africa, Sierra Leone, Lagos, Old Calabar, Mashonaland. 10. STEGOMYIA SEXLINEATA, Theobald (Monog. I, p. 308). Vems of wings with long, but rather broad, brown scales. Tarsal joints black, with broad white basal bands to the 3 upper, of the hind, and narrower ones on the 2 upper, of the fore and mid legs. Thorax nearly black, with a pair of complete fine submedian white hues, and two other shorter lateral pairs in front, but wanting on the posterior 3rd of the mesonotum. Abdominal segments steely-black, wiih narrow pale basal bands on all but the first two ; and silvery lateral spots to all, those of the 6th, 6tb and 7th extending on to the dorsum ; proboscis unhanded, nearly black.
Head black, with a median and two lateral pahs of white patches, clypeus black. Antennae with white scales on the basal joint; palpi black with white patches at the bases of the last two joints. The thorax, in addition to its six tine hnes, has a white spot in front of the roots of the wings ; scutellum nearly black, a little lighter on the middle lobe ; pleurae black with snowy patches. Legs black except just at the bases of the femora, a white knee- spot, and a speck on the outer side of the femora. Tarsal claws equal and simple. Halteres yellow with dark knobs. Venter black. Length. — 4 mm.
Habitat. — Trinidad at Aqua Santa, December.
378 GNATS OU MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER XIII 11. STEGOMYIA GRANTII, Theobald (Mouog. I, p. 306). Veins of wings with long, narrow brown scales. Hind darsi with three, and the fore and middle with one distinct basal band, the other joints merely slightly paler. Thorax chestnutbrown, with a narrow median line of white scales forked in front of the scutelluni, then a fine curved lateral pair, and another pure white line below on each side. Abdominal segments purple-black with narrow white basal bands and yellow fringes behind, the basal bands each sloping back to join that behind it, and so form lateral white lines. Proboscis unhanded. Upper leg joints, including first tarsal, with three longitudinal stripes of white scales.
(? . — Head black, with two median lines of white scales meeting in a point in front, expanding backwards ; orbits white scaled, and a line of pure white scales between the eyes ; antennae brown, with pale bands ; basal joint black, with a border of pure white scales ; palpi black, with the tip white, scutellum and pleurae chestnut, the former with a white border, and the latter with a few patches of white scales. Legs black with three linear white stripes on each of the long joints. Venter pale ; fore and mid tarsal claws small and simple. Looks much like C. sfathijjaljns, Kond, but the wing is unspotted and has " 4 " only a little inside "3." Length. — 5 mm.
ifrt&i/fff. — Sokotra.
12. STEGOMYIA TERRENS, Walker (Ins. Saund. p. 429). Veins of wings with long black scales. Tarsi dar„ brown with three broad basal bands to the upper joints of the fore and mid legs ; hind tarsi with three bands, the middle one very wide, formed by a broad basal band on the second, combined with the white apex of the first, the last two black. Thorax with mousecoloured and white narrow curved scales which look as if they had once formed a definite ornamentation. Abdominal segments clothed with purple-black and scattered golden scales with brilhant lateral spots, specially large and distinct on the anterior segments. Proboscis black, unhanded.
^ . — Head brown ; eyes bordered with white scales ; proboscis, palpi, and antennae deep chestnut-brown ; plumes deep silky-brown ; palpi brown with no trace of banding. Pleura; brown, with snow}^ spots. Legs dark, the femora with white garters, specially broad and distinct on the hind legs. Length. — 6 mm. (described from Walker's type, which is in none too good condition).
Habitat. — " South America."
GENUS STEGOMYIA 379 13. STEGOMYIA (?) SIGNIFER (Coquillett).
(Canadian Eut. xxviii, p. 43.)
Habitat. — Columbia (British North America).
TiTne of capture. — June.
"Evidently very similar to C. fasciatus, Fabr., but differs in having untoothed ungues in the ? , and, according to Coquillett, by the silvery lateral stripes not being so curved, and it has the pale tarsal bands on the articulations, each involvmg two joints." * 14. STEGOMYIA PSEUDOT^NIATA (Giles).
Jour. Bombay Nat. Hist. See. xiii, p. 607.
Plate xiv, fig. 8, Venation of w^ing ; 9, Decoration of body ; 10, Larva ? 7.
Veins of wiogs densely clothed with long and rather wide scales, the costa having a long white basal patch. Tarsi black, banded white on the upper articulations, one ring on the fore, two on the mid and three on the hind foot, the bases of the first joints being also white, but not involving the tibiae. Thorax black, elaborately decorated with fine white lines (as in figure). Abdomen black, with narrrow basal snowy bands, barely visible on the hinder segments. Proboscis black, unhanded.
Head black, w^ith two fine lines in the middle and two broader pairs at the sides, as well as narrow white orbits, but the clypeus is black. Palpi of ? black, with the apex and a single indistinct band white; those of (J , almost exactly as in 8. Marsliallii. A small white patch at the roots of the wings ; scutellum with a small median patch of white scales on its anterior border ; pleurae black with short stripes of white scales. Halteres yellowish, with dark knobs. Legs black with longitudinal white lines on the femora. Lengtli. — 4*8 mm. ?; 31 mm. 3' • Habitat. -The lower Himalayas, Nami Tal and Bakloh, 7,000 ft. The larvae are 8 mm., very dark tinted, so that the eyes can hardly be made out. I found them in a small collection of clean rain water, with some green confervcB in the cemented gutter round a house. The respiratory syphon is very short.
15. STEGOMYIA (?) TARSALIS (Coquillett).
(Canadian Ent. xxviii, p. 44.)
Wings unspotted ; tarsi dark, with broad white bands on the articulations. Thorax black, with a dorsal spot and lateral undulating white lines. Abdomen black, with basal white bands.
380 GNATS OR MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER XIII Original description : — ''Habitat. — Argus Mountains (California).
'• Thorax black, marked with a dorsal grey vitta, its tomentum yellowish, except a white sub-dorsal undulating line on either side, a spot in front of the scutellum above the root of each wing, and on the pleura. Abdomen black, a fascia of white tomentum at the base of each segment, and at the apices of the last three. Both ends of tarsal joints broadly white ; fore and mid claws bearing a tooth, hind simple in the <y , in the J unserrated. Length. — 4*50 mm.
" Clearly a distinct species, probably coming m the genus Stegomyia (F. V. T.).'' 16. STEGOMYIA GUBERNATORIS, Sp. n.
Jour. Bombay Nat. Hist. See. xiii, p. 607.
Plate xiv, fig. 6, Venation of wing ; 7, Decoration of head and thorax. Wings unspotted ; tarsi each with two bands, one at the base of the first, the second over articulation between first and second joints; thorax sooty, with a large round anterior median and four lateral spots at the corners of the mesonotum ; abdominal segments black with large snowy lateral spots, and a minute terminal median spot on the last ; venter sooty. 5 . — Head sooty black, the nape with a ininute median line, and a pair of small lateral spots of snowy-white behind the eyes ; antennae, proboscis and palpi entirely black. Scutellum black ; pleuras and coxae speckled white. Halteres with white stem and black knobs, their roots protected by membranous sequliB. Legs all black except the white bases of the hind femora, and smaller patches on the under sides of the other thighs, together with large white knee-spots ; the apices of the tibiae are involved in first tarsal bands, and there is a trace of a third band m the fore feet. Length. — (Of wing) 31 mm.
Habitat. — Allahabad, Government House Garden, July. The single type specimen of this very distinct species was unfortunately damaged after description. It is probably not uncommon, but the collection of further specimens and of its larvae is a desideratum. 17. STEGOMYIA MICROPTERA, Sp. n.
(Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. xiii, p. 609 = Ciilex micropterit,s.) Plate xiv, fig. 24, Venation of ? wing ; tig. 25, Head and thorax ; fig. 26, Appendages of ^ head (to show relative length). Wings densely clothed with uniformly black scales, tarsi unhanded ; thorax dorsally unadorned, but with white spots on the pleuras. Abdominal segments black, with white basal bands expanding into lateral spots, and a distal fringe of yellowish hairs. Wings proportionally very small.
GENUS STEGOMYIA 381 Head black, with a pair of snowy spots on the nape, especially distinct in the male. Antennae black, the plumes of the male having a very marked silvery reflection in certain lights. Palpi black, longer than the proboscis by rather more than the length of the terminal joint, very minute in the ? . Proboscis black, with a distinct but minute white or yellowish tip.
Thorax with a black ground, covered with a bronzy tomentum and a number of strong bristles, which become especially marked along the posterior border of the scutellum, which is armed with a median and lateral tufts of strong bristles nearly as long as the first two abdominal segments. There are some snowy spots on the pleurae, and a tendency to longitudinal ornamentation of the dorsum, but not sufficiently contrasted to catch the eye. Wings markedly shorter than the abdomen. Halteres light yellow with darker knobs. Legs short and stout, almost uniformly black save for the femora below, a minute knee -spot, and a tiny band at junction of tibia with first tarsal joint, yellowish-brown. Hind tibia about the same length as the first tarsal joint. Abdominal segments black, with very narrow basal snowy bands (which often disappear on drying), expanding laterally into distinct spots ; and with a fringe of yellowish hairs along the distal borders of the segments ; venter black, with broad basal snowy bands to the segments. Male claspers black, proportionally large. Length — of wings in ^ 2*2 mm., of abdomen, 2-5 mm.
Habitat. — Allahabad, Jhansi, and Lucknow in houses during the rains.
Observation. — A small, heavily-built mosquito, nearly black throughout, the abdominal banding often disappearing by shrinkage in drying, with short thick legs and exceptionally small wings." Note. — I origmally thought this species came under Mr. Theobald's Wyeomia, as to the characters of which I had then but a brief note. Further specimens which have dried with the metanotum better ex^Dosed, show that the bristles I supposed to belong to it are really some small ones on the scutellum below the three great tufts of bristles figured. 18. STEGOMYIA CRASSIPES (Van der Wulp).
(Dipt, der Midden Sumatra, p. 9.)
Wings with yellov^ish scales, specially long on I, II and IV ; fork of II external to that of IV. Tarsi unhanded, nearly black. Thorax bronzy brown, the mesonotum quite unadorned, though a little whitish at roots of wings. Abdominal segments black, with conspicuous yellow apical bands, which are prolonged backwards in the middle, so as to form an interrupted median line ; the middle ones have also triangular side spots. Venter pure white. Proboscis dark, unhanded.
Head black with creamy orbits and median stripe, clyj)eus black with scattered white scales. Palpi entirely black. Scutellum white-scaled ;
382 GNATS OR MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER XIII pleurte brown, brindled with white scales. Legs nearly black, except the under sides of the femora. Halteres yellowish. Length. — 4 to 4'8 nira.
Habitat. — Upper Burmah, Sumatra.
19. STEGOMYIA IRRITANS, Theobald.
(Report Liverpool School Tropical Medicine, 1901). Plate xiv, fig. 21, Head and appendages of $ .
Wings clothed with uniformly black scales. Tarsi unhanded. Thorax unadorned black. Abdomen black, with minute basal white bands on some of the anterior segments.
Closely resembles 8. hrevipalpls rnihi,, but the ^ palpi are at least as long as the proboscis, and his antennae are proportionally very short, instead of being well nigh as long as the palpi, or proboscis. ?. — Head covered with flat creamy- grey and black scales, the black ones forming a more or less triangular patch on each side, and a small area in the middle, a few scattered black upright fork scales over the occiput, around the eyes a narrow line of curved golden scales ; clypeus black, apparently nude ; palpi testaceous, with dark scales ; antennae dark brown, with narrow pale bands, basal jomt half testaceous, the inner half darker, base of the second joint testaceous, basal joint with a few small scales on the inner side and minute curved hairs ; proboscis deep brown ; eyes black and golden. Pleuras brown, with large creamy patches. Legs nearly black, grey on the coxae and under-sides of the femora ; tarsal claws symmetrical ; the fore and mid feet each with an extra tooth, the hind simple. Halteres yellow, with white scales on the knobs. Venter whitish, with narrow black hinder border to the segments. Length. — 4 mm.
Habitat. — Bonny, West Africa.
20. STEGOMYIA ARGENTIOPUNCTATA, Theobald.
(Monog. I, p. 316).
Veins of wings with brown scales. Tarsi unhanded, nearly black. Thorax black-grounded, clothed with very long and narrow, umber-brown scales, decorated with six patches of flat white scales, four in front and two more at the sides behind. Abdominal segments nearly black, with small basal lateral white spots and yellow side bristles, venter dark brown. Proboscis unhanded, brown, but black at tip.
Head black, with numerous small white spots; the clypeus black. Antennae brown, a few black scales on second joint ; palpi of ? brown, those of ^ also brown, and unhanded, exceeding the proboscis in length by more than its last joint, which is equal to the next, both being so small
GENUS STEGOMYIA 38;j as to be, together, shorter than the third joint. Scutellum nearly black, with three silvery patches ; pleurae paler, with five white dots, three in an upper and two in a lower row. Halteres fuscous. Legs nearly black, the femora paler at the base, and gartered white just above the white knee spots ; the apices of the tibiae also white. Tarsal claws of ? equal and uniserrated on fore and mid, simple on hind legs ; those of 3' markedly unequal on fore and mid legs with an additional tooth to both of the fore claws, but on the small claw only of the mid feet. Length. — About 4 mm. ^ and $ .
Habitat.— Salishnvy, Mashonaland, 4,000 feet.
21. STEGOMYIA MINUTA, Theobald (Monog. I, p. 319).
Wing veins with brov^n scales, black on the costa. Tarsi dark brown, unhanded. Thorax nearly black, with irregular white submedian lines, and a pair of white spots, rather to the front. Abdominal segments black, unhanded, but with white lateral spots. Proboscis black.
$ . — Head dark brown, clothed with fiat dark brown scales, with a patch on each side converging to the nape, and another lateral patch lower down; upright black forked scales in the middle, and long black bristles projecting forwards over the eyes ; the fiat median scales show a brighter brown tint in some lights ; palpi and proboscis black, the former densely scaled ; antennae dai'k brown, basal joint deep ferruginous, base of the second joint ferruginous. Scutellum with a line of white scales ; pleurae dark, with a few white dots. Halteres pale with dark knobs. Legs brown, the mid and hind femora with distinct white apices, absent in the fore legs, tibiae also with a white apical band, most prominent in the hind legs ; ungues small, equal and simple. Length. — 1'8 to 2 mm. Habitat.— ^a\\&hviry (4,000 ft.), Mashonaland.
22. STEGOMYIA NIGRICEPHALA, Theobald.
(Report Liverpool School Tropical Medicine, 1901).
Wing veins densely clothed with dark brown scales. Tarsi nearly black, unhanded. Abdomen black with small lateral, basal white spots. Thorax, dark brown, with bronzy scales; unadorned. Head, entirely black. Proboscis black, unhanded. 5 . — Head black, entirely covered with flat black scales, clypeus, proboscis and palpi black ; antennae dark brown, basal joint testaceous on one side, dark on the other. Scutellum testaceous in the middle at the base, black at the apex, lateral lobes greyish-brown, mid lobe with flat black and grey scales and six (?) black "border-bristles" ; metanotum blackish ; pleurae very dark with three large patches of white scales. Legs nearly black, a little paler on the coxae ; fore and mid tarsal claws equal, but each with accessory tooth ; hind simple. Ventrally, the
384 GNATS OR MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER XIII abdomen is black, with white basal bands to the segments. Halteres yellow, with dusky knobs. Length. — 4*8 mm.
Habitat. — Bonny, West Africa, May.
23. STEGOMYIA BREYIPALPIS, Sp. n.
Plate xiv, fig. 17, Venation of wing, ? ; fig. 18, Wing of <? ; fig. 19, Costa of the same more highly magnified ; fig. 20, Head and appendages of ^ .
Wing vmspotted, black scaled ; those on the costa peculiarly long and ihorn-like, especially in the male, distal veins very long and narrow. Tarsi unhanded black. Abdomen black, not noticeably banded. Palpi of ^ but two-thirds the length of the proboscis, uniformly fuscous.
This curious little mosquito is at once one of the smallest and blackest of the family, and closely resembles a " sandfly," common in the same locality. Some females show signs of lateral white abdominal spots, and of an apical fringe to the segments, and there are white specks on the pleurte and coxae in both sexes. The male presents several pecuharities, the curvature of the nape consisting of a broad median area, clothed with yellow upright forked and narrow curved scales, with lateral patches of truncated white overlapping scales. The palpi are exceptionally short, and much resemble those of a female Anopheles in form. The antennae on the other hand are well nigh as long as the proboscis. The abdomen is very narrow in front, gradually widening to the sixth segment, i-esembling in this respect C. annulatus, Schrank. In both sexes the venter is rather pale cinereous. The fore and middle ^ ungueb are unsymmetrical, with each claw provided with a minute basal accessory tooth ; those of the hind legs are small, simple and symmetrical Ln the $ , the apices of the femora are light coloured. Taken at Shahjahanpur, N.W.P., in October, in the house. The female bites during the day.
aeiins XIII. ARMIGERES, Theobald.
This genus may be distinguished from Stegomyia by the third long vein being continued inwards, beyond the transverse veins, as an unsealed vein, to the base of the wmg, a pecuharity which, however, it shares with many species included within the limits of other genera, and which may even be made out, to some extent in some Stegomyia, so that personally I should have preferred to have left the species within that genus, for the present.
Although larger than most of the species of that genus, they much resemble the darker forms, such as S. brevipalpis, and S.