± w £ (A X z ^-^ iiiniiiSNi NviNOSHiiws S3iavMan libraries smithsonian^institu BRARIEs'^SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOIinillSNI NIVIN0SHims*^S3 I d VI «/) (/J 5 ^^ — .„ CO liniliSNl"'NVINOSHilV^S S3ldVMan"^LIBRARIES^SMITHS0NIAN"'lNSTITU '. ^ BRARIES SMITHSONIAN~INSTITUTlON NOIiniIiSNI~"NVINOSHilWS S3iaVi t/> (/> ^, ^ z » (/> z . •^' '- — z CO z w z liniliSNI_NVINOSHimS S3IWVyan__LIBRARIES SMITHSONIAN JNSTITU ^^^^^ ^^^^ '^^^ ^ ^ ^ i /^^ i /^^ - ^ '^ Z -J 2 J Z 3RARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOIinillSNI NVINOSHIIWS S3iav; )linillSNrNVINOSHllWS S3 I MVaa n"LI BRAR I Es'^SMITHSONIAN~INSTITl .<•. to z w z Z v>- BRARIES^SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOIinillSNI NVIN0SH1IWS*^S3 I d V; en en 5 ^ ^ — en " <o: iini!iSNi~NviN0SHiii/^s S3idvyan libraries smithsonian~institu r- , z r- z f" BRARIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOIinillSNI NVINOSHllWS S3iaVJ tn Z r ifi ^ ^ 2: «.. ,llMir. i .^ z ^ (/) SW/, lliSNI NVINOSHilWS S3 I MVaS H^LI BRAR I Es'^SMITHSONIAN^INSTITUTIOr kRIES^^SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOIinillSNI NVINOSHIIWS^SB I aVd 3 T c H LIlSNrNVINOSHilWS S3iavaan libraries SMITHSONIAN~INSTITUTIOr I— - z r- 2r r~ I' iR I ES^^SMITHSONIAN^INSTITUTION^NOIiniliSNI-NVINOSHillMS S3 I aVM 8 CO ^. ^ z • </> z ^ LliSNI NViN0SHims'^S3iaVaan libraries^smithsonian iNSTiTUTior Z -I z -J z ^RIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOIiniliSNI NVlNOSHilWS S3iavaai 03 > lliSNrNVINOSHilWS S3 I aVM 8 H^LI B RAR I ES*^SMITHSONIAN~INSTITUTIO z <^ z ^.^. <2 z IVR I ES*^SMITHSONIAN_ INSTITUTION N0linillSNI_NVIN0SHilWS*^S3 I d Va 8 I iliSNi"'NVINOSHillAJS S3iavaan~'LIBRARI ES^SMITHSONIAN"'lNSTITUTlOl r- , z r- Z r- ^RIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOIinillSNI NVINOSHimS S3iavaai ^ Z r «/> Z ^ ^ : V,^ BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY; r^^ I BEING ILLUSTRATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS THE GENERA OF INSECTS FOUND IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND CONTAINING COLOURED FIGURES FROM NATURE OF THE MOST RARE AND BEAUTIFUL SPECIES, AND IN MANY INSTANCES OF THE PLANTS UPON WHICH THEY ARE FOUND. BY JOHN CURTIS, F.L.S. HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ASHMOLEAN SOCIETY OF OXFORD, OF THE IMPERIAL AND ROYAL ACADEMY OF FLORENCE, OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA, ETC. VOL. VIII. DIPTERA. OMALOPTERA. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, AND SOLD BY E. ELLIS AND CO., 92 GREAT RUSSELL STREET, BLOOMSBURY; SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL, STATIONERS' COURT; AND J. B. BAILLIERE, 219 REGENT STREET. 1823—1840. * JUN25 »H ^^: PllINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT. FLEET STREET. e> TO HENRY BROWNE, Esq., OF HETHERSETT, NORFOLK, AND HENRY NISBETT, Esq., OF CLAPTON, THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED AS A TOKEN OF THE SINCERE REGARD AND FRIENDSHIP OF THE AUTHOR. London, December 1, 1838. V ^^.•4- '^<^-^-' '^^ ^ ^'^^ } ; 5" / ^ - ; ^ 3 537. CULEX GUTTATUS. The white spotted Gnat or Mosquito. Order Diptera. Fam. Culicidae. Type of the Genus, Culex pipiens Linn. CuLEx Linn., Fab., Lat., Meig., Curt., &c. Antenna attached to the internal margin of the eyes, shorter than the proboscis, porrected, lo-jointed in the males, basal joint stout and globose, 12 following short and obovate, gra- dually increasing in length, each producing a ruff of very long fine hairs, 14th and 15th long, slender and pubescent, the latter rather the shortest and attenuated, each with a few long hairs at the base (3) : setaceous pubescent and 14-jointed in the fe- males, basal joint large globose, the remainder elongated, each producing a few long hairs at the base (3 9). Trophi of equal length, excepting the female palpi. Labrum rather broad, hollow, margined and acute (B^b). Tongue like a fine hair (c) ; wanting in the male. Mandibles as long as the lip, thick at the back with a fine mar- gin, very acute and a little dilated before the apex and ap- parently serrated (d) ; none in the male. Maxilla very delicate flaccid and filmy, a little dilated at the base (e), from whence arise the Palpi, which are poiTected and clothed with scales, pilose, clavate, very short and 5.''-jointed in the female (/), 1st joint membranous at the base, 2nd small, 3rd clavate, 4th the longest and stoutest, subclavate, oth a tu- bercle at the apex: longer than the proboscis in the rnale (fS), clavate, clothed with scales and very hairy on the inside, 6-jointed, first 2 joints short, 3rd long and slender, 4th the longest, clavate, 5th and 6th of nearly equal length, rather shorter than the 4th the terminal one being the broadest, elliptical and less hairy on the inside than the 2 preceding joints. Labium long and hollow, receiving the trophi, excepting the palpi, hairy outside, terminated by 2 lobes, with a minute one between them at the apex {g). Head 5?wa//, subglobose: eyes la^-ge meeting above, luiiular, being emar- ginate on the inside at the insertion of the antenna : ocelli none. Thorax ovate: scutellum semicircular. Abdomen slender, sublinear, terminated by 2 lobes in the males. Wings longer than the body, incumbent, subelliptic, densely ciliated, the nervures scaly (9). Legs long and slender, especially the hind pair : tarsi long and 5 -jointed, basal joint very long, terminal the shortest in the posterior : claws small and acute. Larvae and Pupse living in the water : vide Kleeman tab. XV. GuTTATus Meg. —Curt. Guide, Gen. 1137. 5^. In the Cabinets of Mr. Cooper and the Author. Probably there is no region free from Mosquitos, under which appellation are comprised various species of the genus Culex — the genuine Gnats of this country : even in the Arctic re- gions, Capt. James Ross and his companions were compelled ; to wear gauze over their faces during the summer months, to protect them in their fishing excursions from the venomous attacks of these tormenting Insects; in the collection, also, made by Capt. P. P. King in his survey of the Straits of Magellan I find specimens of a Mosquito, and others I have received from New Holland. I have long entertained an opinion that, like the Tabanidas, it is the females only that bite, and this opinion is almost confirmed by a careful dissection of the tro- phi, since I could not discover either a tongue or mandibles in the males ; it may therefore become a question, what does this sex live upon? I rather suspect on flowers, and it is re- markable that in out-houses and places where these insects abound, the sexes are not often found together ; I remember in the month of June to have seen the males of C. annulatus repeatedly, widiout observing one female, and last May I met with the males of C. nemorosus flying in a large swarm in the afternoon in Coomb-wood, in a dark shady hollow, and not one female was amongst them ; but on sitting down a few came out of the grass and lit upon my hand. I do not remember ever to have been bitten by C. pipiens in Sept. ; although I have seen great numbers of the females in my sleeping-room at that period of the year, but in July I have suffered very much from the bites of this and other species, and on the shores of the Mediterranean their piping note was the most terrific noise that could have assailed my ears at night, for to sleep it was impossible, until they were either satiated or destroyed. It may be useful to observe, that the Pnpse are frequently conveyed into the sleeping-room in the ewer, especially when it is filled from butts of rain-water ; in such cases the Gnats escape from the Pupae in the evening, and as soon as they can take wing, they are prepared with a keen appetite, having fasted during their imprisonment in the pupa, to attack the inmates of the apartment. There are near 20 species found in this country, a list of which is given in the Guide : I have only seen 2 specimens of the species figured ; both of them were taken at Cobham in Surrey. C. guttatus Meg. '^—Ciirt. Brit. Ent. pi. 537 ^ . Pubescent, reddish-brown; antennae pale; hinder margin of eyes white : thorax black ? the sides griseous with at least 6 white spots on the pleurae: margins of abdominal segments ciliated with ochreous hairs, each banded with pure white scales beneath at the base, and appearing like 12 trigonate spots on the sides : wings fuscous, transparent and beautifully iridescent at the interior margin: halteres pale lurid : legs with a cupreous lilac tinge ; coxae white thighs beneath whitish, the posterior brown only towards the extremity, all tipped with white. The Plant is Ajuga Chamcepitys^ (Ground Pine). : 9.10 cX-1a'M^t&^' <i2tt. / — . 5'- ) U? 210. ANOPHELES BIFURCATUS. Order Diptera. Fam. Culiciclae Lat.—Tipulidse Lat.^ Meig. Type of the Genus Culex bifurcatus Linn. Anopheles Meig., Lat.—Culex Linn., Fab., Meig., &;c. AntenncE inserted between the eyes in front of the head, seta- ceous, attached to large globose scapes, longer than the thorax and composed of 14 joints in the Male, the hrst J 2 joints dilated at their apex and producing fascicles of very long hairs, short only on one side of the basal joint, 13th joint long slender and pilose, the 14th scarcely so long, attenuated and pilose, with afewlong bristles at the base (3) : shorter than the thorax and 13-jointed in the Female, pubescent with a few long bristles arising from the base of each joint excepting the first which is the longest, 2d the shortest, remainder of nearly equal length (3a). Trophi longer than the antennae, of equal length (B). Labrum slightly attenuated and transparent, broad, hollow, ap- pearing articulated at the apex (b). Tongue transparent, slender with a rib down the middle (c) Mandibles very slender and transparent with a rib at the back (d). MaxillcE very slender and transparent, dilated at the base (e), from whence arise the Palpi which are equally long in both sexes, but more robust in the male (f) than female (f*), covered with scales at the base, pilose at the apex, 5-jointed, basal joint mi- nute, 2d long and slender, 3d twice as long, 4th and 5th forming an elongated oval club in the male, but slender in the female.