158
WILLIAM MACNAE
records that American salt marsh mosquitoes visit flowers of Avicennia
before flying off to search for i t blood meal. Indo-Pacific species
probably also look for such a source of fuel.
The nests of species of the weaver ant or tailor ant Oecophylla spp.
are conspicuous (Fig. 5 7 ) , most often on trees and bushes of Bruguiera
or of Ceriops or of Sonneratia caseolaris. The ecology of Oe. smaragdina
has been studied by Vanderplank (1960) who has shown that a colony
may consist of several nests. Little is known of the coccids which
thickly clothe leaves, etc., of certain trees, particularly those colonized
by Oeeophylla, nor of the beetles which bore into these trees.
Lever (1952) has reported that the caterpillars of a species of the
moth Argyroploce are leaf tiers which spin a not very dense web on the
twigs and leaves of young trees of Sonneratia grifithii. These caterpillars do not climb to higher levels but remain where they are when
the tide flows. The larva is not specially adapted to survive submersion,
but it does so without ill effect.
The presence of biting insects makes difficult any investigations in
mangrove areas, for their bites are vicious and may produce strong
reactions in an investigator. Mosquitoes are often incredibly numerous.
At Darwin, in January 1962, over eighty mosquitoes, presumably
Aedes vigilax (Skuse), settled on my bared arm within two minutes.
This degree of abundance is exceptional. Many mangrove-associated
mosquitoes have odd breeding habits. For example Aedes pembaensis
(Theobald), common from the Bay of Lourenpo Marques northward on
the coast of Africa, lays its eggs on the claws of Sesarma meinerti (see
Worth et al., 1961) and the larvae emerge and develop to adults in the
pools at the foot of the burrows inhabited by the crabs. These larvae
and pupae are pallid (Macnae, unpublished observations).
A salt-water species of Anopheles close to but probably not identical
with A . gamhiae Giles, from which it has not been distinguished, is
responsible for much of the malaria in coastal eastern Africa and as far
east as Mauritius. This species is characteristically found in open areas
behind the mangroves (Thompson, 1951 ; Paterson, 1963).
Anopheles (Myzomyia) sundaicus (Rodenwaldt) is a mosquito
occurring in coastal districts throughout South East Asia from India
to south China and in the larger Sunda Islands but not eastwards of
these. It was responsible for most of the malaria there. A . sundaicus
breeds exclusively in brackish water of chlorinity 4.8-1 3 x 0 (Hodgkin,
1956). The breeding pools are, as a rule, found a t the limits of tidal rise,
where the tide reaches only once or twice per month. Rain and seepage
water dilute the dammed-up sea water to a point that is suitable for
the mosquito. Larvae are also common in disused boats where sea
WILLIAM MACNAE
records that American salt marsh mosquitoes visit flowers of Avicennia
before flying off to search for i t blood meal. Indo-Pacific species
probably also look for such a source of fuel.
The nests of species of the weaver ant or tailor ant Oecophylla spp.
are conspicuous (Fig. 5 7 ) , most often on trees and bushes of Bruguiera
or of Ceriops or of Sonneratia caseolaris. The ecology of Oe. smaragdina
has been studied by Vanderplank (1960) who has shown that a colony
may consist of several nests. Little is known of the coccids which
thickly clothe leaves, etc., of certain trees, particularly those colonized
by Oeeophylla, nor of the beetles which bore into these trees.
Lever (1952) has reported that the caterpillars of a species of the
moth Argyroploce are leaf tiers which spin a not very dense web on the
twigs and leaves of young trees of Sonneratia grifithii. These caterpillars do not climb to higher levels but remain where they are when
the tide flows. The larva is not specially adapted to survive submersion,
but it does so without ill effect.
The presence of biting insects makes difficult any investigations in
mangrove areas, for their bites are vicious and may produce strong
reactions in an investigator. Mosquitoes are often incredibly numerous.
At Darwin, in January 1962, over eighty mosquitoes, presumably
Aedes vigilax (Skuse), settled on my bared arm within two minutes.
This degree of abundance is exceptional. Many mangrove-associated
mosquitoes have odd breeding habits. For example Aedes pembaensis
(Theobald), common from the Bay of Lourenpo Marques northward on
the coast of Africa, lays its eggs on the claws of Sesarma meinerti (see
Worth et al., 1961) and the larvae emerge and develop to adults in the
pools at the foot of the burrows inhabited by the crabs. These larvae
and pupae are pallid (Macnae, unpublished observations).
A salt-water species of Anopheles close to but probably not identical
with A . gamhiae Giles, from which it has not been distinguished, is
responsible for much of the malaria in coastal eastern Africa and as far
east as Mauritius. This species is characteristically found in open areas
behind the mangroves (Thompson, 1951 ; Paterson, 1963).
Anopheles (Myzomyia) sundaicus (Rodenwaldt) is a mosquito
occurring in coastal districts throughout South East Asia from India
to south China and in the larger Sunda Islands but not eastwards of
these. It was responsible for most of the malaria there. A . sundaicus
breeds exclusively in brackish water of chlorinity 4.8-1 3 x 0 (Hodgkin,
1956). The breeding pools are, as a rule, found a t the limits of tidal rise,
where the tide reaches only once or twice per month. Rain and seepage
water dilute the dammed-up sea water to a point that is suitable for
the mosquito. Larvae are also common in disused boats where sea