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Transcription
1. Maringouin - Magarhina. Megarhina is a new genus of
[illegible] recent creation (founded by Des voidy). and therefore
2. Subgenera - evidently he does
not know the word species
3. Mosquito - probably meaning small fly in spanish
4. Cul. pipiens occurring in
N. America
5. Megarhina with inumerable
subgenera. again compose etc.
6. palpae (instead of palpi). - shorter than
what?
7. Wings. - Prismatic colors, -
study of nervures. - All what is
said about them is nonsense.
8. Subgenera again!
9.) - He evidently never looked
on any wing through a microscope
10.) across the ignorance how to
kill with chloroform. -
11.) Where have you described them? The definition of type
is excellent indeed.
12. because the insects were brought over
13. Subgenera again. over
"They are this etc" Who? subgenera?
"
To prete
14. Nonsense.
15. This last wing is the most absurd of all. To pretend that All Culex
All have the same neuration, with very slight differences.
16. What is a quiet eddy?
17. All these parts are so startling that it would
be interesting to know where he got them?
18. Not true. No dipteron is known having
eggs ona footstalk. And no Culex lays
[written on the right half of the page]
(he evidently means species; but unfor-
tunately for him the Genus Megarhina
contains but very few species. Only
one is mentioned in my Catalogue as
occurring in N. America. The general,
the number of species of true, stinging culiidae
is rat not at all innumerable;
on the contrary it is one of the small
genera.
[page turned, stamped]
J. Kennicott Brenton Collections
Notes and Questions
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These notes are from John Kennicott, referred to in a previous letter he sent to Bob.
The notes in dark ink are by the Baron Carl Robert Osten-Sacken, a Russian diplomat and fly expert (Diptera) [see for example RK-772 for handwriting comparison] - He mentions about the Megarhina "Only one is mentioned in my Catalogue as occurring in N. America." and Osten-Sacken did indeed write the Catalogue of North American Diptera, published by the Smithsonian in 1858, which as noted on this document includes only one species of Megarhina (M. ferox). The Baron was a friend of Robert Kennicott.
Osten-Sacken's note after #1 says "Megarhina is a new genus of rather recent creation (founded by Desvoidy)."
The note in Osten-Sacken's writing added at the bottom of the transcription (with transcriber's note "[written on the right half of the page]") actually goes with note #5. In this paragraph, the end of the 5th line says "In general" (Osten-Sacken's capital "I"s are unusual), and the word at the end of the 6th line is "culicidae" (the mosquito family).