Volume 1

Reports of the Commission appointed by the Admiralty, the War Office, and the civil government of Malta, for the Investigation of Mediterranean Fever / under the supervision of an advisory committee of the Royal Society.

  • Commission for the Investigation of Mediterranean Fever.
Date:
1905-07
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Reports of the Commission appointed by the Admiralty, the War Office, and the civil government of Malta, for the Investigation of Mediterranean Fever / under the supervision of an advisory committee of the Royal Society. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

    80/142 (page 78)
    * 78 Dr. Eyre, Major McNaught, Capt. Kennedy, and Dr. Zammit. one end with a piece of mnslin secured by an indiarubber band and closed at the other by a well-fitting cork, where they remained, without food, for from 30 to 32 hours. This useful little piece of apparatus (fig. 4) enabled a distinguishing number or letter to be assigned to eA'-ery mosquito, simplified the handling of the insects, and rendered it an easy matter to ascertain that feeding had actually taken place, and indeed to watch the entire progress of the act. Fig. 4.—Esperimental Feeding-tube for Mosq^uitoes. In connection with these experiments many difficulties, varying with the species, were encountered, some of which may be usefully referred to. In the first place, cannibalism is a marked feature of mosquito life during the larval stage, of all the species, and probably not more than 50 per cent, of the larvae—under laboratory conditions—attain maturity. The occasional addition of a few grains of tapioca to the water containing the larvae certainly reduces, but by no means prevents, this wastage. Then it was soon found that female Acartomyia and sometimes Culex (Jatigans and pipiens) when segregrated immediately after emerging from the pupa were weakly, could not under any conditions be induced to bite, and soon died. This reluctance of the virgin to suck blood has frequently been noted, and it was consequently found necessary to allow the females to remain in company with the males for two or three days after emerging from the pupa in order to ensure an adequate supply of impregnated females, the insects being freely supplied with fruit—chiefly apples—and syrup during this period. By adopting this method the weakly imagines, which quickl}^ died, were weeded out and a supply of sturdy females was insured. Again, Acartomyia, although naturally a voracious feeder during the daytime as well as after dusk, like Culex could not in captivity be induced to bite until after dusk and occasionally until after night was