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DEPOSIT aS wig y aN On 2 “g a: BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH ISSUED BY THE IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. EDITOR: THE DIRECTOR, VOL. V. LONDON: BOLD BY DULAU & Co., Lrp., 37, SOHO SQUARE, W. 1914-1915. IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY Honorary Committee of Management. RT. HON. LEWIS HARCOURT, M.P., Chatrman. Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. Atcock, C.I.E., F.R.S., London School of Tropical Medicine. Mr. EK. HE. Austen, Entomological Department, British Museum (Natural History). Dr. A. G. BacsHawe, Director, Tropical Diseases Bureau. Sir J. Rosz Braprorp, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., Secretary, Royal Society. Surgeon-General Sir Davip Bruce, C.B., F.R.S., A.MS. Dr. S. F. Harmer, F.R.S., Keeper of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History). Professor H. Maxwer.tut Lerroy, Imperial College of Science and Technology. The Hon. Sir Jonn McCatt, M.D., Agent-General for Tasmania. Dr. R. Stewart MacDovueat., Lecturer on Agricultural Entomology, Edinburgh University. Sir Joun McFapyeay, Principal, Royal Veterinary College, Camden Town. Sir Parrick Manson, G.C.M.G., F.R.S., Late Medical Adviser to the Colonial Office. | Sir DanteL Morris, K.C.M.G., Late Adviser to the Colonial Office in Tropical Agriculture. Professor R. Newsteap, F.R.S., Dutton Memorial Professor of Medical Entomology, Liverpool University. Professor G. H. F. Nutratt, F.R.S., Quick Professor of Protozoology, Cambridge. Professor EK. B. Poutton, F.R.S., Hope Professor of Zoology, Oxford. Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Davip Pratn, C.I.E., C.M.G., F.R.S., Direetor, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Mr. H. J. Reap, C.B., C.M.G., Colonial Office. The Honourable N. C. Rotuscui.p. Mr. Hue Scott, Curator in Zoology, Museum of Zoology, Cambridge. Dr. A. E. Surptey, F.R.S., Master of Christ’s College, Cambridge. Sir Stewart Srockman, Chief Veterinary Officer, Board of Agri- culture. Mr. F. V. THropatp, Vice-Principal, South Eastern Agricultural College, Wye. Mr. J. A. C. Tituey, Foreign Office. Mr. C. WarpurtTon, Zoologist to the Royal Agricultural Society of England. | The Chief Entomologist in each of the Self-governing Dominions is an ex officio member of the Committee. General Secretary. Mr. A. C. C. Parkinson (Colonial Office). Director and Editor. Mr. Guy A. K. MarsHatt. Assistant Director, Mr. 8. A. NEAVE. Head Office—British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, 8.W. Publication Office —27, Elvaston Place, London, 8.W. ' YeOsOMOTMA At ion sho ; lie aman adhe ‘ i a4 : " 2) \Iusenape 6 Yo ‘somtieeaigd youd o ote ie : ; | ih reyes a yy 2. PHUOORAK | awa Eaie Te a es “te Toa nobad ae VE Genk A a fot tne CONTENTS. ——______. ORIGINAL ARTICLES. Austen, Ernest HE. PAGE. A dipterous parasite of Glossina morsitans............++seeee eee e tees or Bacot, A. W. : The influence of temperature, submersion and burial on the survival of eeu and larvae of Cimer leciularius... 0... .c ce cece cece ees eecues 111 Bauuarp, HE. Two pests of Manoa sla INVadelaid. .) «si... ni) seithare oie a s.aig. sc ose slide p oe 61 Brzzi, Pror. M. Two new species of fruit flies from Southern India................... 158 Cummines, Bruce F. Descriptions of five new species of Anoplura and Mallophaga.......... 155 Distant, W. L. Notes on some injurious African Rhynchota.................0ceeeeee 241 DurRRANT, JOHN HartTLeyY. A new cotton-seed moth (Mometa zemiodes) from West Africa......... 248 Epwarps, F. W. New species of Culicidae in the British Museum, with notes on the genitalia PUPP WEEN AY OOM oon onl eo aa) US ss ised ooo gsi dw ww whe oe WERT AER eS 63 New Culicidae from Borneo and Hong Kong.....................45: 125 New and little-known Hast African Culicidae............... te 273 Diagnoses of new Bornean Culicidae........ Paced ta! baal a 283 FroeGatt, WALTER W. Sheep-maggot flies in Australia........0 06.0.0. cee cee ect c eee n wee 37 Australasian Hispidae of the genera Bronthispa and Promecotheca which destroy coconut pale irotids:? 20851 1. eee re BEEEG a FRIESE 149 (C156) Wt.P8/91. 1,000. 7,15. B. & F. Ltd. Gp.11/1. vi CONTENTS. Gouau, Dr. L. H. ! jen PRG, _ Preliminary notes on Egyptian mosquitos................eeeees seen 138 GREEN, EH. ErRnzEsT. Remarks on a small collection of Coccidae from Northern Australia.... 231 Hampson, Sir Geores F., Bart. Two new species of wood-boring moths from West Africa.............. 245 Hirst, STANLEY. Preliminary list of the Acari occurring on the brown rat (Mus norvegicus) in Great Britain, with the description of a new species (Haemogamasus OUMCMITIEL) Ee ios Sia oe al oe es ee hee ee ibaa eae os ea eee 119 On the parasitic Acari found on the species of rodents frequenting human habitatious da Mey pt... +085 --» univittatus, Theo. 67 » gwar, Blanch. : 68 Ht » var. graham, Thao: 69 » trifoliatus, Edw., sp. n. 69 » wimdividiosus, Theo. .. 70 » laurenti, Newst. 71 » perfuscus, Edw., sp. n. 71 perfidiosus, Edw., sp. n. 72 Modified ndleTe ed segments of the male, and sacapueceican seminis of Xenopsylla astia, Roths., X. brasiliensis, Baker, and X. cheopis, Roths. 84. Villa lloydi, Aust., sp. n., 3 : ip ci oe abe LY, sete 92 Laelaps echidninus, Berl., dorsal and ventral view of protonymph, 119; ventral view of deutonymph, and chelicera : 120 Anopheles kochi, Dén., larva, after first moult. 130 . he » head and thorax of oe larva 131 a brevipalpis, Roper; wing, front claws of ¢ and praneree at palpi of 9° : 141 Haematopinus taurotragi, Oh praees a il; “sipeleeraaal scamenty of on thoracic sternite of g and 9, 156; tracheal system 157 LIAnognathoides spermophili, Samannge, sp. n. Z ; sien? Sac snd abdominal pleurites dissected off 161 Colpocephalum mjobergi, Cummings, sp. n. ¢ a 2, cope and ate ae mouth-parts, alimentary canal and genitalia .. ¥2 . 164, 165, 168 Menopon robsoni, Cummings, sp. n. oy mandibles, antenna, and Seine palpus .. 3 171 Goniocotes waterstoni, Onna. in Me, head and peaihare of 3, saeauithie parts, and genitalia . 175 Phlebotomus ingram, Newst., sp. n., ¢ enol iS idakaee 180 rs simillimus, Newst., sp. n., proximal portion of oe of 3 and 9, and wing of 92 181 a minutus, Rond., and var. ee Newst., lines Hoes relative length of ord. segment of antennae of dg and 9°. 181 os mascittii, Grassi, genital armature of 3 .. whe a 182 Xi ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. PAGE. Phlebotomus mascittti, 3, proximal portion af antenna, and wing 183 BS us 3, ventral view of distal segment of superior clasper 184 Ri perniciosus, Newst., 3, proximal portion of antenna, and wing, 183; distal segment of superior clasper (3 views) .. 184 5 minutus, Rond., 3, genital armature 185 as roubaudi, News 3, genital armature 186 a zeylanicus, Ann., 9, antenna and palpus.. 25 .. A188 ~ longipalpus, Lutz & Neiva, 2, antenna; 6, genital sannaiece 189 = stantoni, Newst., sp. n., tarsus, antennae, scales and palpus 190 bedfordi, Newst., sp. n., Q, pas and rae 192 Beeutiagritan sophorae, L. . ; 199 Araecerus fasciculatus, de G. : 206 Paremydica insperata, Fst. -é 5A 207 Balanogastris kolae, Desbr. ; bys sh cia ne ai oo OTE Dermanyssus muris, Hirst, P&S; ventral and dorsal aspects, 215, 216; ventral view of deutonymph, 217; ventral and dorsal aspects of protonymph Bs 218 a sanguineus, Hirst, sp. n., 9 & @, ventral baal dorsal pencais. 219, 220; ventral view of deutonymph, 221; dorsal view of protonymph eau ee 3 aegyptius, Hirst, 9, ventral and dorsal aspects, 223 ; cenizal , view of deutonymph, 224; dorsal view of protonymph 225 Letognathus bacoti, Hirst, 9, ventral and eral aspects, 226; dorsal view of 3, 227; dorsal view of protonymph ae igs 228 Aspidiotus Fagin, Mask., pygidium of adult @ : 231 Lecanium pseuderpansum, pes ei n., adult female, and ‘aneeitias: 933 ; stigmatic area. , 234 Bremnus fulleri, Mshl., Bp.i,’ ©. 235 Hyperoides fragariae, Mshl., sp. n. : 236 Cyllophorus rubrosignatus, Mshl., Spect. *e 238 Oxycarenus amygdali, Dist., sp. n. 241 Arocatus continctus, Dist. 242 Pundaluoya simplicia, Dist. ois ahs .. 242 Agaon fasciatum, Waterston, sp. n., atitenina and details hy ues 250, 251 Sycoecus thaumastocnema, Waterton sp. n., details .. a A 254, 255 Chalcis olethrius, Waterston, sp. n., hind leg 257 Male claspers of :— Ochlerotatus quasiunivittatus, Theo., O. dentatus, Theo., O. alboce- phalus, 'Theo., O. nigeriensis, Theo., and O. hirsutus, Theo. .. 277 Male armature of Ochlerotatus pembaensis 278 Male claspers of :— } Taeniorhynchus chubbi, Edw., sp.n.; ZT. aurites, Theo.; T. ehryso- soma, Edw., sp. n. a0 5. .. 280 Silvius apiformis, dees. Sp. n., and dide: view of head 295 » monticola, Neave, sp. n., 297; antenna of 2 295 Terminal segments of larvae of Chrysops and Haematopota 297 Pupal asters of :— Chrysops longicornis, Macq., 6& 2. 298 i magnifica var. inornata, Aust., ¢ & o 299 2 wellmani, Aust., ¢ & @2 299 bimaculosa, Neave, sp. n., g & Q 301 H demiato pola insatiabilis, Aust., 9 305 3 crudelis, Aust. 306 es decora, Walk., 9, with denis Deda outils 306 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. Xlil Pupal asters of (cont.) :— PAGE. Tabanus maculatissimus, Macq., 92, with combs 308 as corax, Lw., 6 & 92, with comb of @ .. 308 ‘ biguttatus, Wied., ¢ & 9°, with combs 310 a ustus, Walk., 3, ith combs of ¢ & Hs 311 Be fraternus, Macq., 9, with comb 312 a atrimanus, Lw., 5 & 9, with comb a Q 313 - variabilis, Lw., ¢ & 2, with combs .. 314 Ss insigmis, Liw., 3, with combs of 3 & : 315 + laverani, Suits, 6, with comb. ; 315 = nagamiensis, Cart., 3d, with combs 316 ae gratus, Lw., 3, ate combs of ¢ & : 5d U7 Ss obscuripes, Ric., 5 : 318 A medionotatus, Aust., g.. 319 Imago of :— Chrysops bimaculosa, Neave, sp. n. 300 = woodi, Neave, sp. n. ‘ a 302 Side view of head of Chrysops wood, and’ (OP use. Tread. oy Wes 303 Wing of Chrysops austent .. 2 304 Tabanus corax, Lw., syphon and nite secant of ae ms 309 Nyssomyzomyia ne Theo., egg, 321; clypeal hairs of full- ao iene 322 5 rossi, Giles, egg, 321; peal hairs of full-grown larvae.. 322 Trigonogastra rugosa, Waterston, sp. n., antennae of g & 9, mandibles of g 327 Be megacephala, Waterston, sp. n., antennae of ¢& 9 .. 328 Closterocerus insignis, Waterston, sp. n., 9, details 331 3 trifasciatus, Westw., antenna of 9 331 Sympiesis purpureus, Waterston, sp. n., @, details 334 Syntomosphyrum taprobanes, Waterston, sp. n., 9, details ; 337 Tetrastichodes asthenogmus, Waterston, sp. n., 9, antenna and Pama 340 Details of :— Pleurotropis africana, Waterston, sp. n. me .. 348, 353, 357, 360 a amaurocoela, Waterston, sp.n. .. ae 348, 355-357 Be clinognathus, Waterston, sp.n. .. .. 9348, 351-353, 357 oe homoea, Waterston, sp. n. .. NS: .. 348, 353, 357, 358 a tlustris, Waterston, sp. n... ae Ae soe 357, 363 aA mediopunctata, Waterston, sp. n... ,. 048, ado, 357, 309 a neavei, Waterston, sp.n. .. ee .. 047, 348, 353, 357 - nigripes, Waterston, sp. n... 5s .. 93848, 353-355, 357 telenomi, Crawf., antenna .. is a Oe Dy eiemosphyrusn glossinae, (igiangian sp. n., Imago aa derail 365, 366, 368 - phaeosoma, Waterston, sp. n., antenna oe 50 366 Tetrastichus melichlorus, Waterston, sp. n., ean and mandible 371 Anopheles schiiffneri, Stanton, sp. n., nelle and proboscis of 2 373 FP a tund leg”. . se 374 ae caphas eae. Mshl., sp. n. 377 Corigetus bidentulus, Fst. 378 Ehynchaenus mangiferae, Mshl., sp. n. 378 Pachytychius mungonis, Mshl., sp. n. 380 ‘e ; ; "9 1H ~ that th ’ Ta! . ‘4 we ig ; ad ‘ dod i. ‘ “Oy as , : rar ea STEP oR LA Bi htt at pi lens ee? AG UF tes re Tad a ait ae Pa a, fet . ais deheni it ie ify: 4 3 pt j s , Pes oath reeces a 14 oo fy : hie 't i ie : ‘ af 5 tik WTRIOS sae G15. gy (a Ny evan te wir, s scat hee ‘2 abe Laat. Dacha t : OM Ae } ye ae Resins em Ret 86 lak tentg dist to arted tapupgtarty £30 cane st Dh cg a dln ee oa ce CEETT ERG AL! os , “ di iP eeivi. cc hl qa TQ Se sts ve DROP ¢ terte sayy ryt : 7 3 ‘ : 5 * aD ii va Besa eke, amino f } A j ’ ? A " vat aves ote t ni om At She ee aa ee: areata PER ; of ge (etd rE ep LAGE ee a scab, eotiols n. zie Lo te { vEeehs ' ’ é ' : »\ * \ " . t i n 3 #8 é 4 L t Vi ' ' “ ! ' y 4 o : > ' 4 : y ’ € 4 . : , fi r § - y i eee * ibhckaat HELE ( , ‘ re, oe ew re tice a ri eral 7 7 mm ¢ Lo Bs Po. 2 Gee Fe or ? , , ’ « { ‘A ie ie "T + y ; ! f Fe i : , ui) u i Ed kh Wea’ eng § \ i Oe ie ae i XV ERRATA. . 13, line, 27, for ‘‘ O. quasigelidus ’’ read “‘ C. quasigelidus.” . 15, line 37, for ‘“ A. funesta”’ read “* A. funestus.” . 19, line 45, for ‘“‘ Makengo ”’ read ‘‘ Makongo.”’ 27, line 4, for “‘ T. marmoratus”’ read ‘* T. marmorosus.”’ . 37, line 38, for “‘ Agriculturnl ” read ‘‘ Agricultural.” . 39, line 17, for ‘‘ fowl ’’ read ‘‘ foal.”’ . 95, line 27, for ‘“‘ Lagos, 8. Nigeria ’’ read ‘‘ N. Rhodesia.” . 106, line 8, for ‘‘ restlesness ’’ read ‘‘ restlessness.”’ 145, second footnote, for “‘ Liecester’s types ’’ read ‘* Leicester’s types.”’ 154, line 30, for ‘“‘ European ”’ read ‘‘ Ethiopian.”’ 155, line 16, for “‘ Knowsby ”’ read ‘‘ Knowsley.”’ 190, line 22, for ‘‘ Lutx ”’ read ‘* Lutz.”’ 193, line 28, for “‘ not conspicuous ”’ read ‘‘ quite conspicuous.” . 214, line 3, for ‘* boetica’’ read ‘‘ baetica.”’ . 269, line 18, for “‘ Mr. J. A. Bovell’’ read “‘ Mr. J. R. Bovell.”’ . 295, fig. 2, delete legend and read “‘ Antenna of Silvius apiformis, sp. n.: (a) dorsal view ; (b) lateral view.”’ . 326, line 8, for “ 7. megacephalus ”’ read “* T. megacephala.”’ P. 341, line 2, for “‘ one-third ”’ read “‘ one-half.”’ P. 352, line 28 bes 55 a >» P. 372, line 1g y fOr W. A. Patterson ’’ read “‘ W. H. Patterson. P.¥362, line 8, for “violaceus” read “ violacea.” a aac MacMa-Ba-Ra-acMa- MaMa BacRa-Ba-Ba-da-) oy ee. helt “ ere a iiG tee Wer ae ae. ob ae * hun ie ; whee coh is ay Le Lots hae . : VOL. V. Part 1.—pp. 1—96. APRIL, 1914. BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH ISSUED BY THE IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. EDITOR: THE DIRECTOR. LONDON: SOLD BY DULAU & Co., Ltd., 37, SOHO SQUARE, W. Price 4s. net. | All Rights Reserved. IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. HONORARY COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. THE EARL OF CROMER, G.C.B., G.0O.MG. O.M., Chairman. — Lieut.-Cotonet A. ALCOCK, O.LE., F.R.S. Mr. E. E. AUSTEN. Dr. A. G. BAGSHAWE. Sir JOHN R. BRADFORD, K.C.M.G., F.R.S. SurG.-GeneraL Str DAVID BRUCE, O.B., F.RS. Dr. S. F. HARMER, F.BS. | Pror. H. MAXWELL LEFROY. Sir JOHN McCALL. Dr. R. STEWART MACDOUGALL. Sm JOHN MoFADYEAN. Str PATRICK MANSON, G.C.M.G., E.R. Sir DANIEL MORRIS, K.C.M.G. Pror. R. NEWSTEAD, FE.R.S. Pror. G. H. F. NUTTALL, F.R.S. Pror. E. B. POULTON, F.RS. Lizut.-Cotonet Sir DAVID PRAIN, C.M. a. C.LE., F. RS. Mr. H. J. READ, 0.M.G. Tue Hon. N. C. ROTHSCHILD. Mr. HUGH SCOTT. Dr. A. BE. SHIPLEY, F-.R.S. Sik STEWART STOCKMAN, Mr. F. V. THEOBALD. Mr J. AO. TILLEY, Mr. C. WARBURTON. , Director. : Mr. GUY A. K. MARSHALL. Secretary. Mr. A. C. C. PARKINSON. ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN BRITISH WEST AFRICA. V.—GOLD COAST. By Jas. J. Smupson, M.A., D.Sc. (With a Map showing the distribution of Glossina and Sleeping Sickness, and | 8 photographs by the Author.) (Puates I.—IV.) CONTENTS. PAGE. Introductory pr 4 sii: Bi i ta 1 I. Geography of the Gina ni 4 ene (1) Position and Extent wi mt a i i aie (2) Physical Configuration .. ke si 6 sis Sele oe (3) Vegetation “s a he wit ds ae a 1G II. Climate and Rainfall a Ba As -s Ay: ie ‘ghia ill Ill. Narrative .. a ras Ay oH IONS (1) Accra to Rome eis Algae) wk an aN N8 seheok3 (2) Obosomano to Akuse .. Ns sir i} ss tat) LS (3) Akuse to Coomassie wk at Hs a ie oe LG (4) Coomassie to Tamale ... Me Sd a a fe RELS (5) Tamale to Bawku ine ts ays ae re ee 20) (6) Bawku to Lorha.. r wa an uc i i 22 (7) Lorha to Kintampo ih: ETS as dt 2Bee (8) Kintampo to Coomassie (via ae ts ss i> 28 (9) Coomassie to Sekondi (Railway) aie ae = cnr (10) Sekondi to Accra. . 27 IV. Records of Blood-sucking Insects ond otter Anthropods f teal fie Gold, Coast.) 3°, 29 V. Insect-borne Diseases in Man aa lather Lietee of hh eee, fol VI. The Distribution of the Genus Glossina .. is oe De ae VII. Parasites of Mammals iN - 4 be ane ois on Oo INTRODUCTORY. The following report is the fifth and last of a series dealing with entomological research in the British Possessions in West Africa. The other four have appeared In previous issues of this Bulletin, and in them the aims and methods adopted have been stated in considerable detail. This paper deals mainly with the results of personal observations on the geographical distribution of the various blood- sucking insects in the Gold Coast, made during a tour in that country from November 1912 to June 1913; with these are incorporated, wherever possible, records of previous workers in this line, and consequently the report may be taken as a general summary of entomological work accomplished in this Colony. Several general considerations of the factors which influence insect distribution are here discussed, ¢.g., a chapter has been added on the geographical position of the Colony, in so far as this determines the species of blood-sucking insects found ; the physical configuration also calls for comment, as the mountains and rivers are factors of great importance in the distribution of such species; the nature and distribution of the vegetation also influence the types found in the different localities, and consequently a few short notes on this aspect have been added. (C10) Wt.P12/42—26.3.13. 1,000. 3.14. B. & F.Ltd. Git/t. A 2 JAS. J. SIMPSON—ENTOMOLOGICAL Lastly, a short discussion on the climate and rainfall, and its bearing on the subject in hand, has been given, for, as has a ready been pointed out, temperature, length and duration of the wet and dry seasons respectively, rainfall and humidity, are all factors in determining the occurrence of the different species of blood-sucking insects, , A map of the Colony is appended, and on it are shown (1) the extent and areas covered by the various types of vegetation, (2) the route followed by the author, (3) the localities in which the different species of Glossina were found, and (4) the distribution of sleeping-sickness. A number of towns and villages not shown on the original map, but referred to in the narrative, have been added in red. The general narrative follows the order in which the country was traversed by the author. Since one of the chief aims in this survey was the visiting of as many Kuropean stations as possible, the main roads were for the most part followed ; but at certain places deviations were made in order to enquire into special points suggested by information received from various officials. It will be seen from the map that the great majority of records are in the region traversed by the author ; some of these, however, are based on observations made by others. But the most obvious feature is the abnormally small number of records from districts not on the main line of communication, showing how very little is known of the detailed distribution of any species, the local factors influencing it, and its significance. Surely this opens up a line of investigation which would be fraught with use‘ul results. A systematic list of the blood-sucking insects and other arthropods so far obtained in the Gold Coast is given as a guide to the species which may be expected, and, in the narrative itself, their local distribution is shown in some detail. | A few notes on the various diseases caused by blood-sucking insects, in man and other animals have been appended, and their distribution and prevalence discussed. The general distribution of the various species of Glossina, and the factors which influence it, has also called for attention, but it must be remembered that this subject can be discussed only in very general terms, owing to our scanty knowledge of local prevalence. Following up the introduction to the study of the parasites of mammals, birds, etc., started im my Report on Sierra Leone, I have collected together in a separate chapter certain records obtained during my seven months’ tour in the Gold Coast. This is a subject which is of more than passing interest, and one which has not hitherto been sufficiently studied, owing in great part to the difficulty m obtaining specimens of the various types of game, &c. It cannot be too strongly emphasised that this report must be taken m conjunction with the previous four, where many matters of general interest and application were discussed. After a more extended examination of West Africa I do not feel called upon to withdraw or modify any of the inferences there deduced or any of the recommendations there suggested, but on the other hand more strongly urge their adoption and extension in the Gold Coast. RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. 3 I. GrogRAPHy oF THE GoLp Coast. (1.) Position and Extent. The territory in British West Africa Saree red under the name of the Gold Coast consists of three separate parts, (a) the Gold Coast Colony, (b) Ashanti, and (c) the Northern Territories. It is the most important country in West Africa (Nigeria excepted) on account of its immense agricultural and mineral wealth. It is situated in the middle of the Gulf of Guinea, and has an area of over 90,000 square miles, 7.e., almost as large as that of Great Britain; it is roughly rectangular in shape, and stretches inland for almost 400 miles from the coast. Its extreme boundaries south and north are 4° 45’ N. and 11° N., while its eastern and western limits lie in 1° 14’ Hi. and 3° 7’ W. The coast line extends for over 350 miles, and lies practically due east and west from Aflao to Newton. The native population of the Gold Coast in 1911 was estimated at over 1,500,000, while in the same year 2,245 Europeans resided there. This latter number was made up as follows :—566 officials, 605 merchants, 922 engaged in connection with the gold mines, and 152 missionaries. The three divisions mentioned above are arbitrary political divisions, but at the same time are to a great extent physical. (a) The Gold Coast Colony.—The territory known under this name lies in the south, and contains the whole of the coast line. It has an average breadth of 250 miles, a depth inland varying from 50 to 120 miles, and comprises an area of approximately 24,200 miles. The geological formation and the nature of the vegetation divide the Gold Coast Colony into three main zones, (1) the Western, a country of forest-clad undulations; (2) the Central, a narrow tract of fertile hills; and (3) the Hastern, a country of plains covered with coarse grass and dotted with clumps of stunted trees. The coast consists for the most part of a. low sandy shore with occasional rocky cliffs, and is beaten, except at a few places, by a heavy surf. A number of small rivers occur at intervals; in the wet season these flow directly into the sea, but at other times, imprisoned by their sandy bars, they spread out into shallow stagnant. lagoons. This is most marked between Addah and Kwitta. The Volta River alone has been navigated at its mouth by sea-going vessels, but only of small size and at great risk. There are no harbours for ocean-going steamers, and these are consequently compelled to anchor a half to one mile off shore. Along the 95 miles of shore in the Prampram, Addah and Kwitta districts, a narrow sandy spit separates the sea from the lagoons, which, with but two or three short breaks, extend beyond Lagos in Southern Nigeria. The chief towns on the coast are Accra, Sekondi, Cape Coast Castle, Axim, Elmina, Addah, Kwitta, Saltpond, and Winneba. Accra is the capital and seat of government of the Gold Coast, and has a population of about 21,000. It stands on sand and gravel some 25 feet above sea-level. Included within the municipal boundaries of Accra are Jamestown and Usher Town, in both of which are situated native quarters and commercial houses ; Victoriaborg, the site of the European bungalows and most of the government (C10) A 2 4A JAS. J. SIMPSON—-ENTOMOLOGICAL offices ; and Christianborg, a native town, which also contains Christianborg Castle, the Residence of the Governor. _ From Accra a railway is being constructed northwards through the cocoa- producing country in the Eastern Province. The sanitary condition of the town has been greatly improved during the last few years by the clearing of congested areas, the demolition of insanitary houses, the laying out of new streets, and a more thorough system of drainage. A water supply is being laid down, and when this is completed it will enable the sanitary authorities to do further good work in the way of exterminating mosquitos. Sekondi is also an important town, inasmuch as it is the coast terminus of the Sekondi-Coomassie railway, which supplies the gold-mining district and siti: producing country both of the Colony and Ashanti. (6) Ashanti—To the north of the Colony proper and separated from it by a very irregular line is the territory known as Ashanti. It has an average breadth of 250 miles, a depth inland varying from 50 to 120 miles, and an area of approximately 20,000 square miles. It is physically divided into the dense forest country of the south and the open grass country of the north. The forest zone is generally undulating and in places hilly, but in the Tiga country the slopes are long and gradual. ‘The capital of Ashanti is Coomassie; it is the headquarters of a Chief Commissioner and a Provincial Medical Officer, and is the terminus of the railway from Sekondi ; it ig surrounded by swamps for some two-thirds of its circumference, but on the N.W. and §.E. it is connected by firm ground with the adjoining country, which is covered with forest, patches of bush, orelephant grass. Its water supply is amongst the best in the West Coast of Africa. The town is naturally well drained, for the ridge on which it stands is composed of ironstone and gravel merging into the loam of the swamps, and falls about 70 or 80 feet in a quarter of a mile. (c) The Northern Territories.—This region comprises the hinterland of the Gold Coast, and lies, roughly speaking, north of the Black Volta River, which enters the Gold Coast from the French Ivory Coast, traverses it in an easterly direction, and eventually forms the boundary between the British and German territory. The area of the Northern Territories is estimated at 36,000 square miles. They lie wholly out of the forest belt, and may be described as a gently undulating plateau covered with savannah forest, with which is mingled open savannah. The capital of the Northern Territories is Tamale, which is the headquarters of a Chief Commissioner and a Provincial Medical Officer. (2.) Physical Configuration. Generally speaking, the country along the sea-board is undulating in character, especially to the east of Winneba, where extensive plains exist between the coast and the well-marked hill ranges in the interior, which approach, on an average, to within fifteen to twenty miles of the sea-shore. Westwards of the above-mentioned town the undulations are much more pronounced, and give rise to low hills with abrupt slopes facing the sea. The coast line is, on the whole, bold and well defined, and the long stretches of low-lying mangrove swamps, so characteristic of the Southern Nigerian coast, are here a very subordinate feature of the country. ‘RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. ° 5 » ‘As one recedes from the coast line northwards, the land becomes very hilly, well wooded, and rich in perennial streams, and these characters are maintained till the central plateau of Northern Ashanti is reached; there the dense forests. gradually. give way to the open savannah formation ; in which the water supply during the dry season is poor, and the contours of the country.again assume an undulating character. These upland plains are, however, dominated here and there by well-marked rocky pills that sometimes reach an altitude of 1,600 feet. | The plateau i is interrupted by the lower valley of the Black Volta River to the oan but Teappears a short distance inland from the left bank of that river, and gradually increasing in height, culminates in the tableland on which Gambaga is situated. It must attain an altitude of close on 2,000 feet in that province. - | By far the most important river in the Gold Coast is the Volta, with its two large feeders, the Black and White Voltas. The former rises in the Mina Mountains of the Western Sudan, flows almost due south, and forms the boundary between the British Possessions and those of the French, from the 11th parallel as far south as about 8° 40’ north. At this point it enters the Gold Coast, and crosses the whole territory in an easterly direction, emerging in about 8° 10’ N. From that point: almost to its mouth it forms the boundary between the Gold Coast and German ~ Togoland. The White Volta rises some hundred miles due north of the important town of Wagaduga, in the French Sudan, flows almost due south, and consequently drains a considerable portion of the Northern Territories. This river in turn is joined by the Red Volta, which also rises in the French Sudan and, alter flowing southwards, joins the White Volta near Gambaga. ~ The River Daka, which also forms part of the boundary with Togoland, joins the Volta at the point where it emerges from the Gold Coast. _ The most important tributaries on the right bank of the main or Black Volta within British territory, are the Tain, Pra, Sene, Sumi, and Afram Rivers, all of which, except the last, drain the northern portions of Ashanti. _ As has been pointed out, the distribution of blood-sucking flies is to a great extent determined by the river systems, and the importance of this aspect with regard to the River Volta cannot be overlooked, since this river system connects the French Sudan, the French Ivory Coast, the Gold Coast, and Togoland, and in a smaller way, the Northern Territories and Ashanti with the Gold Coast Colony. } Three other rivers, though of much smaller size, also call for attention. in this respect, namely, the Tano River, the Pra River and the Ankobra River. The Tano River rises in north-western Ashanti, and after flowing in a more or less southerly direction for nearly the whole of its course, empties itself into the Tendo lagoon, on the extreme south-western border of the Colony, close to the town of Half Assini. It drains the forest land of Ashanti and the Colony, an area of several thousand square miles. . The Pra River, rising in the hills of Cee in Hastern Akim, flows for the greater portion of its course in a south-westerly direction; at Sarmany it turns to the south and flows into the sea near the town of Shama; it drains an exceedingly hilly tract of country. The most important feeders on the right bank are the Anum 6 JAS. J. SIMPSON—ENTOMOLOGICAL River, which drains the country to the east of the Sacred Lake, and the Offin, with its tributary, the Adra. These both drain the southern and south-western portiony of Ashanti. On the left bank the Pra River is joined by two important tributaries, , the Irwi and the Birrim, the latter of which is much the larger of the two, and drains: one of the best cocoa-growing districts. | The Ankobra River rises in the extreme northern portion of Upper Denkira, close to the mining centre of Bibiani, and is confined for the whole length of its course to the limits of the Colony. It flows almost due south through a very rich mining and timber country, and falls into the sea close to Axim. (3.) Vegetation. For a detailed study of the vegetation of the Gold Coast the reader should consult a report* by Mr. H. N. Thomson. I shall here confine myself to a few notes on the various forest areas in so far as these have a bearing on insect distribution. The general limits of the different types are shown on the map which accompanies this report. The chief plant associations in the Gold Coast are as follows :—Rain or moist tropical evergreen forests, fresh-water swamp forests, monsoon or mixed deciduous forests, savannah forests, and pure savannah. The tropical rain forests contain trees of very lofty growth scattered amongst those of more moderate dimensions. As a rule, the trees in the rain forests are connected one with another by a regular network of climbers. Epiphytes are crowded all over the stems and larger branches. Several tiers of vegetation corre- sponding to the heights attained by the component species are to be met with, and under all a deep gloomy shade prevails, relieved only occasionally by spots of sun- shine in clearings formed by the downfall of some forest giant. The air is saturated. with moisture and is, as a rule, remarkably still—conditions very favourable to luxuriant forest growth. The dry season is of short duration, frequently interrupted by showers, and the Harmattan winds are feebly developed. This type of forest is, in its typical form, restricted on the coast line to the extreme south-west corner of the Colony, in the neighbourhood of Axim. From there it extends northwards (with one marked break) along the valleys of the Tano and Ankobra Rivers to just north of the 7th parallel. An extensive branch stretches from Axim in a north-easterly direction to Tarkwa. This is the type found in the greater part of Southern Ashanti. The fresh-water swamp forests are composed of plants which have adapted them- selves to growth in a permanently wet soil. They have much the appearance of plants inhabiting the rain forests, but are not so crowded, the formation being a comparatively open one. The swamps occur chiefly in the vicinity of the larger rivers, and are often caused by their overflow; they occur also in hilly country along some of the deeper valleys. The monsoon or mixed deciduous forests are very rich in plants of economic importance. They are inhabited by both tropophilous and hygrophilous plants in * Colonial Reports: Miscellaneous Col. 4993 Gold Coast: Report on Forests 1910. RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. it varying proportions according to local variations in the rainfall and soil. Owing to the complete or nearly complete defoliation of the tropophilous plants during the dry season this form is easily distinguished from the rain and evergreen forests. This type is found in isolated belts in the Gold Coast. : The transition between the rain forest and the savannah forest is, on the whole, abrupt. This is accounted for by the fact that in the Gold Coast and Southern - Nigeria the so-called dry season is tempered by frequent showers during the tornado months, which coincide with the vegetative periods of the grasses, and thus favours them at the expense of forest growth. In other words, owing to this feature of the climate, as soon as an area becomes, from the reduction in the annual rainfall, unsuit- able for luxuriant forest growth it is appropriated by the grasses instead of by the mtermediate stage represented by the typical monsoon forests. The savannah forests constitute a park-like formation, rich in terrestrial herbs and more particularly in grasses. The tree growth is represented by arboreal tropo- phytes and evergreen xerophytes, but the latter are not numerous, and form an insignificant proportion of the vegetation. . The density of the stock, so far as trees are concerned, varies in accordance with the nature of the soil and its telluric moisture. This type of forest, together with patches of scrub forest, are well represented on the south-east sea-board, whence they extend in a gradually narrowing belt as far west as Sekondi. To the north of Accra they follow the plain, and occupy the country up to the foot of the hills; then, sweeping round to the north, they follow the valley of the Volta River and gradually broaden out till, approximately at latitude 6° 30’ N., they rapidly increase in area, and, bending away to the north-east, occupy the northern half of Ashanti (from east to west) right up to the Volta River and practically the whole of the Northern Territories on the opposite bank. Savannahs consist of formations in which trees are practically absent, and the dominant growth is represented by the grasses. They occur here and there among the savannah forests, and are not extensive. Thorn forests are also poorly represented, and occur only in small patches, such as near Accra, and again in the Banda country of north-western Ashanti, within the savannah forest districts. I hope to show later on that these forest formations are intimately associated with the distribution of the various species of Glossina. Reference to the map will show this to a certain extent. 2. CLIMATE AND RAINFALL.* As has been shown at considerable length in previous reports, temperature, humidity, and the length of the wet and dry seasons respectively have a distinct bearing on the distribution of the insect fauna, so that the following brief notes and tables have been prepared to show the main characteristics of the various regions. * For a more detailed study of this subject see Report on Southern Nigeria in this Bulletin, Vol. ii, pp 145-155, ~ JAS, J.. SIMPSON—ENTOMOLOGICAL Station.. — Jan. | Feb. 7 | Solar Max. | 146°5 |; 41:9 ) ‘Shade Max.| 85°9 | 86°6 Accra... Shade Min.| 62:1 | 63:4 Range 23°8 | 23°1 | Mean 74°0 | 75:0 Solar Max. |147°8 | 149°3 ‘ | Shade Max. 86°9 | 83:3 Aburi .. ~ Shade Min.| 68°5'| 68-0 Range 18°5 | 15°3 | -Mean Lik hod, ‘Solar Max. | 129°0 | 137-1 - | Shade Max.| 87:4 | 90°7 Kwitta Shade Min.| 68:9 | 73:0 ; Range 18-7) Lia - Mean 78°2 | 81:9 Solar Max. | 135-7 | 142-4 ie | Shade Max.| 85°4 | 88:8 Cape Coast < |Shade Min.| 71:9 | 72-9 Range 13°5 | 15°9 Mean 78°7 | 80°6 ‘ Solar Max. | 128°2 | 133°9 | Shade Max.| 87°5 | 90:0 Sekondi < Shade Min.| 69°4 | 72:6 “ Range 18°2 | 17:5 Mean | 784 rs8ies ‘Solar Max. | 147-8 | 133-1 Shade Max. 87:0 | 88-4 Axim .. < |Shade Min.| 68:5 | 67-2 | Range 18-5 | 21-1 Mean TET NA Whllexe: | ‘Solar Max. | 136-7 | 143-4 Shade Max.! 90°4 | 94:0 Tarkwa \ Shade Min.| 68°2 | 71°6 ‘ Range 22°2 | 22°3 Mean 19°3 | 82°83 Solar Max. | 136°2 | 143-5 Shade Max.) 89°5 | 92:0 Coomassie «|ShadeMin.| 60°7 | 53°4 | Range 28°8 | 38:5 \| Mean TOA eT | | Solar Max. |135-9 | 144:4 Shade Max.) , 90°2 | 92:9 Kintampo < |Shade Min.; 67:1 | 71-2 | | ‘Range | 23:2 | 22:8 \| Mean 73-0) ||) iD ‘Solar Max. | 1258 | 139-8 Shade Max.! 89°5 | 92°6 Sunyani ‘ |Shade Min.| 65-9 | 70:3 | Range 23°5 | 22°3 .| Mean Tid Ne Olek: | Solar Max. | 139-3 | 152-4 } Shade Max.} 96:4 |102°6 Tamale \ Shade Min. | 55:7: |. 61.7 | Range | 40:6 | 40-8 \| Mean 16°O |* 82°2 ‘Solar Max. | _— | 158-5 | Shade Max.! — 98°9 Gambaga ‘ |ShadeMin.|; — 78°8 . | _ Range: = 20:1 Mean © —~ 88°83 Mar. TABLE A. Temperatures mm 1910. Apr. |.May | June | July 146'9 | 148°0 | 151-2 | 149-0 85°9 | 85°3 | 84°3 | 84:3 Gl:1 | ,~62°7 ;|...65°7, |; 62°6 24°9 | 22°6 | 18°7 | 22°0 73°4 | 74:0 | 75:0 | 73°4 149-2 | 150-6 | 142-2 | 137°6 86°0 | 86°7 | 84:2 | 82°8 68°3 | 69°9 | 67°6 | 67:4 1is7;| 16°83 | 16°6 | Va:3 POE Wari cies vale 7a rhaye| 144°5 | 140°6 | 141-2 | 136°7 91-07; 88:9 (S861 |,°87-0 71:0 | 70°8 | 68:4 | 71°3 19°94" LSM NG Wao, S10 | TOSe aiid so 79rd 144°7 | 145-4 | 141-0 | 142°9 88°24 87°87 | 8a"9 | “8574 M2 LoL OOn te 72-Oy) yo ee 154 | 14°8 | 13°9 | 12:2 80°5 | 80°4 | 78:9 | 77-3 142-2 | 134°4 | 132:0 | 132-2 90°9. | 91°2 | 87:8 | 85-8 Taro F278. | G22 | Oe 18-4 | 18-4 | 15-6 | 15-0 Slee |, 82°0 | 80°0.| 78°5 131°2 |130°7. | 130:1 | 131:0 88:0 | 88:0 | 84:7 | 84:1 67:2 | 66°38 | 66°6 | 66°5 2088 hOZT-2 5 HES be |. 736 TO Tice. | Wort. | 7 a3 142°9 | 146-7 | 148-7 =e 94:2 | 94:3 | 89°6 | 86°5 70°38 | 71:4 | 70:2 | 70°3 23°4 | 23°0 | 19°4 |. 16-2 82°5 | 82°38 | 79°9 | 78°4 149°6 | 149-0 | 147°3 | 137°6 92°6.)" 89°8") 87-1 | 82:3 123s AACS | I Oe4s | 1072 ZO leo Ores staal 82°0. | 808. 77°80) 76-2 154-5 | 155-3 | 152-8 | 153-4 92°5 |, 91-1 | 87-7.) 84:1 TL:5 -| 70°6 |) 68-5) - 6S 20'9 +) 2O0°a 89827) EGO 82°0 | 80°38 | 781) | Tol 146-2 | 147-0 | 1420 |128°3 94-1.| 93-1 | 89°2 | 83°8 109°) T4274") 695 252) ZIT LES 8.). 1453 82°5. | (827s) ters. | G7 146°5 | 147-8 | 1438-0 | 135-9 100°G))| O7r-S4 ga O" |. Si-4 64:2 | 63:2 | 60°4 | 57:6 36°4 | 34:6 | 32°6 | 29°38 82°4 | 80°5 | 76°7 | 72-5 156:0 | 151-8 | 109-0 — LOL 7 | oo -Oneo2-7 | 85:0 76°4 | 74:5 | 72°6 | 69-9 25°3, | 24:5.) 20-1 | -15°6 82°6 [-0i-7 Ele — — TW O10 Ol ST SD CO WAT D OM — od IMONWN KR ABH DADOWADAMN bo TO ho co WO-+] Dec. | Mean 143°9 | 147-6 87°2 | 85°6 712 | 64°5 16:0 | 21°3 79°21 75a 147°7 {14671 85°5 | 84°5 70°3 | 68°2 15°3 | 16°3 77:9 | 763 136°6 {139°5 87°3 | 87°4 716°7 | 713 10°5 | 15:8 82:0 | 79°5 145°5 1144:0 86:9 | 86-1 73°4 | 71°8 13°6 | 14:3 80°1 | 78-9 — 1133-4 90°2 | 88-1 Fl-7 | Tis6 18°5 | 16°5 81:0 | 79:8 131°7 |132°6 87°2 | 85-8 66°7 | 66°7 20°5 | 19°1 76°9 | 76:2 137°2 {142-4 91:0 | 90°7 69°83 | 70-4 21°2 | 20°2 80°4 | 80°6 127°8 11423 89°7 | 87:9 — 67°4 — | 206 — f T77 141°3 | . —©90°6 FI 65°34 25°1 78:0 | 125°8 | 89°1 | 66:0 | 23°1 | (eae 147-0 96-2 | 653 | 40:9 | 146°6 | 99°3 | CRESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. th apruiset- Taste B.—Teniperatures from 1905-1911. te 1905 1906 | 1907 | 1908 1909 | 1910 . ‘| Solar Max. | 131-07 | 140°79 | 142°51 | 140°36 | 144°26 | 147°57 sai | Min. on grass} 70°27] 65°73} 70°55) °71:72'!° 74:79 | 74:77 , Accra ..4 | Shade Max. | 85°24; 84:64] 84°80) 85°40] 85°42| 85-64 | Shade Min. | 71:80} 70°91 | .70°42| 72°45| .62°98| 64:48 Mean 78°52 | 77°77 | 77°61} 78°92 )- 74:20} 75:06 f Solar Max. | 145-59 | 141-61 | 144-47 | 148:92 | 146-93 | 146-14 | | Min. on grass) 69:90 |. 70°61) 70°29| 67°96) 61°89; 66°31 . Aburi .. | Shade Max. | 86:83} 81°12] 87:11] 85°76) 83°91} 84°47 : | Shade Min. | 71:11 |} 73°57 | 71°07) 67°55) 67°52 ; 68°18 Mean — 78°89 |. 77°34) 79:09 | 76°654° 75:71 | 76°32 | - , (| Solar Max. | 140-64 | 140-93 | 139°31 | 141°32 | 139-64 | 139-46 ©. « |} Min-on grass) 73-06 | 70-12] 71°55 | 72-26 | 69-93 60-35 -Kwitta .. «| Shade Max. | 89:90! 90:11 | 87°85; 89°32| 88°33) 87:44 ¢ sey | Shade Min. 76°20 | 72°75| 74°95 | 74°55.| 72:28} 71:52 Mean 82°51 | 81:43; 81°40; -81°97| 80:21) 79°48 ¢| SolarMax.|° — | — 140°38 | 141-14). -—— 144:03 | | Min.ongrass | 72:10.) 73°99} 71:81] 70:72} 69°72] 60-25 Cape Coast <| Shade Max. | 8425 84:84] 86°54) 86°45; 85°59; 86:11 peer ay . | Shade Min.: | . 73°96 | .75:95.|. 73°36}. 73:05.) .71-°81.| 71:77 ~\| Mean 79°10; 80°39; 79:96} 79°80} 78:70) 78:94 | Solar Max. | 141°55 | 140°54 | 138°53 | 139-10 | 135°38 | 133-39 | | Min on grass.|" 72°57 | 72°38") 72°77) 72°72)| 71:62 | 67-01 Sekondi .. ~ | Shade Max. | 85:23; 86°48] 86:14! 86:46| 87:17| 88-07 | | Shade Min. | 73°53) 73°27; 71:71) 71°86) 71°62) 71:53 Mean 79°38 | 79°87| 78°89) 79°16} 79°48) 79-79 ‘| Solar Max. | 135°52 | 138-95 | 135-81 | 132-05 | 130°86 | 132-57 | Min. on grass 64:18 |..62°16|) 57:12} 65:17| 71:91 | 72°04 Axim ne Shade Max. | 83:71; 86°20| 85:11] 84:45| 84:25) 85-80 | Shade Min. 71°23) 70°:27| 68:41) 67:°99| 67:13) 66°66 Mean 77°90} 78:15| 76°76) 76°55) 74°85) 76°23 . (| Solar Max. — — — | 185:27 | 140°57 | 142-42 ar | Min. on grass) 9 — == == 69°34 | 70-01} 71°43 | Tarkwa .. < | Shade Max. — — == 81:29} 90°42; 90°67 7 TR | Shade Min. = = = 68:47] 70°85) 70°43 | Mean — -— —- 72°75 | 80°64} 80°55 Solar Max. | 141-47 | 144:41 | 140°55 | 140°38 | 140-05 | 142-33 \ Min. on grass’) 69°68; 67°69] 69:13); - — — 73°96 _| Coomassie <| Shade Max. | 86°31) 88°08!) 87°58) 87:27| 87:52) 87:86 Ly Shade Min. | 70°77; 70°91] 70°00; 69°38] 68°90; 67°42 \| Mean Sl-03 — 7949 78-79 78:32) 17821 | 77-69 ‘| Solar Max. —_ — — 129-66 | 147°51 | 149-94 | | Min. on grass| — —— — — — 63°61 -| Kintampo < | Shade Max. — — — 88°65 | 89:01} 89°30 : | Shade Min. — — = 66:25 | 69°33 68-86 .| Mean a — — Tio 1S: it aos Solar Max. — — -—— |.141°30| 141°34 | 136°14 | Min. on grass) — — — 67°64 | 65°94) 62°65 Sunyani .. <| ShadeMax.| — — — 87°05 88°85) 89:60 | Shade Min. —- | — — 72°75 | 74°91 | 69°50 .| Mean — — —~ 79°90 | 81°88 | 79°55 ‘; Solar Max. — — — 145-13 | 143-19 | 145-63 | Min. on grass = =— — — 74°25 | 58°33 Tamale .. < | Shade Max. — — — 92°93 | 94°74} 95°46 || Shade Min. | — — — 69°14 | 63-°05| 59-66 \| Mean — — — $113) 78°89 77756 ‘| Solar Max. | 146-97 | 148-34 | 149-65 | 149°35 | 152°54 | 146°72 | Min. on grass 66°34) 70°74| 61:77| 62°19) 68°57| 69°06 Gambaga.. < | Shade Max. 91°56} 88°68) 88°81|) 90°87) 92°42] 94°51 | | Shade Min. 72:47| 74:49| 73°97 | 72:26) 71°82) 72°78 | Mean 82°44} 81°58! 80°64) 81°56} 82:12| 83°64 10 JAS. J. SIMPSON—ENTOMOLOGICAL Tables A and B have been prepared as a basis for a study of the temperatures in the Gold Coast. These have been tabulated for twelve widely separated stations ; in Table A the monthly records are given; while in table B the annual means for seven years have been brought together. From these it will be seen that the monthly temperatures are more equable along the coast than in the hinterland; in the southern parts there is not a very marked difference between the monthly means throughout the year; but in the north the wet and dry seasons are well defined in temperature as in rainfall. The highest monthly maximum attained in the Northern Territories is much greater than further south, and the lowest monthly minimum is also much less. The mean annual maximum temperature also increases gradually northwards. The range of the monthly means near the coast and in the forest region in Southern Ashanti is small, but increases rapidly in the Savannah region in the Northern Territories: e.g., in Accra the monthly means vary only about 5° throughout the year, while in Tamale the range amounts to over 12°. In the former place the greatest average range for one month is 25°, while in the latter it is 41°; in the former the lowest average range is 16°, while in the latter it is 29°. The maximum range of temperature is experienced in November, December and January, and the minimum in August and September. Table C shows the mean annual range of temperature for four stations from 1908-1911. TABLE C. Mean Annual Range of Temperature. 1908 1909 1910 1911 | Mica. Timuies uy besa” °2806 31-69 | 35:30 | 35:03 | 31-64 | Beemer) Tee 1! eke hy ME 1392 | 177 tnd Pk WOM Ages oto. 1egg 16-29 16-42 16-85 Cape Coast ot 13°56 13°77 14°33 12°32 13°49 | Tables D and E have been prepared for the same twelve stations as in A and B to compare the rainfall and humidity. 1} RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST: EY er Oa Ca ne Ee no, Bree niin —- ? ; — : : s ‘ : 19 G7 -62¢p | ole — | Aqrprumny 6-19 | &-6§ o-69 | 4:68 | €-98/] €-08 | 6:79] F g eae | one pees) =) eye) =|) EL. 0b eri Lalor | 6-6 Ge (9b > | =— | seyourur ( [Teyarey, |} a ¢-6¢ | 6-¢p | G-Sh| $09) GCL | 8-08] FL) 9-39} I-49 | 8-L9 |} 6-86 | L9E| O-1E Aqiprainy jo o0190q, ++ opeurey, : — ; — : 3 , ‘ ? : 8.G ZT e: — SOyouL UI 16:9F € €-1 $-IT | &-8 G6 i) VG dete | a G-88 | €.08 | &88| 328| 3-88] T-6] ¥F-16| 8-06 | 9:06) 6-68 | F-16| 6-26| @-48 Aqipramy goRereet tueAung 80:09 | — = | @& ¢-6 6-¢ §-S1T | L-9 9-G 1-9 6:8 G-36 8-1 =F soyout UI | : [[eyarey, — |26-69| 6-£9/| Z2OL| 8-91) 6-6L| 18] 6-08 | GEL] LL) T-69| €P7S | 6-89) @-8E Aqrprumny | ye Sp ueG odurequryy LOG. \2 > F- I: T-II | 0-12 | FL cOL | &-9 L-9 L-¥ 0-6 rear aw pa gots | ; , Teyurey — |GPr18! 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Soyoul UI ( T[eFarey, | ) — | 6G4| 6eg| TS] 89L| 1-94] 0-08] L6L| €98| 6-6L| T-IL| 1-34) 8-64 | 0-82 | Atprany Jo 90150 = egy 19-0F | = T- PTI ¥-9 8: 6-3 I-P 6-ST | ¢-9 8: I- 9-T =. Soyour Ul . [[eyurey = F18 | 6-98 | L148) 9-88! 2-18} L218] G98] L968] LL8|} F98} L88| TL8} L-L8 Aqrprumny jo oo1d0q + umgy ‘ — : ‘ & ; 2 ; : ; , g-1 LZ = Soyoul Ur : L9-GP ol ¥-§ G-€ VG L-P ¢-9 €-8 6-G G-€ esi | =e 6-18 | GPL! BIL) O-€L| L6L] O-3L| $-88| L78; 0-96] 9-L8 | 9-36) L188} O-GL Aqrprumy jo 001990] ‘+ ez00y G- 6€ = L: 9-T Ax p: PG os 9-81] I? 1-G 6: L-€ = soyour ul | T[VFarByY | [210], | ueoy | *a6q | ‘aon | ‘900 | ‘9dog | ‘Bny | Ame | oung, Avy | ‘ady | ‘wey | “Gog | ‘URL — "U0I}B}Q ‘hypuuny, pun yofuwy—q aravy, scsi _— : 12 JAS. J. SIMPSON—ENTOMOLOGICAL TABLE E. Rainfall and Humidity. ra . 2 © ieee lia ae Ba cmc} Bel oo | a ile eas pies eg) Bang = F x= eb) ° g ae. g s Bs 5 3 S ot oe) ee Ce tare SNe ees ten deepen gees | qidqdije |) oO bmi al) foo] Sb | ee lie | | | Rainfall | " : is |. ~ | 1905. - . | |ininches.| 13} 37 | 26 | 40 | 36 |100 | — | 45 | — | — |— |} 72 |. | Degree of AP be aie a . humidity.| 76°} 87 | 90 | 85 | 65.| 89 | — | 86 | — | — | — | 57 | (| Rainfall | se | leaped lal 1906 é | in inches. | 21 | 49 | 16 | 42 | 42 | 67 | — | 75 | — | — | — | 45 sig | Degree of s] tne a a | | |humidity.| 86 | 89 | 79 | 85 68) 85 | —- | 90 | — | — | — | 61 | | ‘| Rainfall He 1907 ah | in inches. | .37-| 51 | 26 |-38 |.46 | 95 | — | 63 | —.} — | — }-89 | : | Degree of "3 “oe lie ia humidity.| 78 | 89 | 80 | 87 | 59 | 91 | — | 88 | —| — | —/} 62) —. Raitall ioe i i og a Pee : 1908 ; j in.inches. | 25 | 55 | 30 | 34 |-40 89 | 92 | 60 |. 37 | 26 | 39 }°31 Degree of |” . : | humidity.| 77 | 81 | 82 | 78 | 58 | 938 | 79 | 86 | 47 | 84 | 26 | 60 | : a Rate eal aes ee a : . ; 1909 in inches. | 27 | 49 | 22 |°34 |'47 | 71 | 87 | 60 | 67 | 58 | 52 | 66 | Degree of | — humidity.| 90°| 86 | 80 | 81 | 60°} 93 | 82 |:87 | 72 | 89 | 59 | 64 | ‘| Rainfall | | 1910 | in inches. | 40 | 43 ; 41 | 26 | 41 | 91 | 79 | 71 | 72 | 60 | 46} 51 | Degree of : a | humidity.|-82.) 87 | 76 \ "85 7°58" 9F | $3 87 70°| 89° | a5 162 Rainfall 1911 ; in.inches. | 40.| 40 | 18 |. 22 | 35 | 89 | 76 |} 70 | 34-| 42 | 45 | 38 Degree of | - humidity.| 78 | 87 | 80 | 82 | 58 | 93 | 85 | 86 | 61 | 85 | 54 | 63 From these it is evident that the Gold Coast is the Colony of least rainfall in West Africa. In the coast region the maximum rainfall generally occurs in June and tails - off rapidly ; in Coomassie it is more evenly distributed from May to September ; while in the Northern Territories, July, August and September may be taken as the ‘months with the greatest rainfall. During these three months nearly three-quarters of the rainfall for the year occurs. The smallest rainfall on the coast is in the low, sandy plains east of the Volta River ; it increases westwards with the spread of the forest, culminating in the region around Axim. It is very heavy in the forest belt which passes through Tarkwa, but diminishes northwards where the monsoon forest gives way to savannah forest, 3 and is least in the Northern Territories in the savannah region. The dry season proper in the hinterland is from November to April, when practically no rain falls. - The general humidity is least during the dry season, but is not proportionate to the rainfall. The towns on the coast, on account of their proximity to the sea, possess a higher relative humidity than the recorded rainfall would lead one to expect, and further, there is always a heavy dew and thick mist to about 8 a.m. in the rain- and monsoon- forest zone; this increases the relative humidity in these regions. RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST: 13 Thus when we compare the rainfall and humidity in 1911 of Kwitta on the coast, Coomassie in the forest belt, and Gambaga in the extreme north-east, we get the following figures : Kwitta, 18 inches of rain with a relative humidity of 80; Coomassie, 70 inches and 86; and Gambaga, 38 inches and 63 respectively. The general humidity decreases from Axim northwards; at Kintampo at the edge of the forest this is very marked, while further north in the savannah region it is much more so. The difference between the relative humidity in the wet and dry seasons is much more marked in the northern parts; e.g., in Axim in January and September, 1910, the figures were 87 and 93, while in Tamale, in January and August of the same year the figures were 31 and 80; the difference in the former was only 6, while in the latter it was 49. | Thus we see that in temperature, rainfall and relative humidity the Northern Territories show the extremes of a continental tropical climate, and are very comparable with the parts of Northern Nigeria in the same latitude. III. NARRATIVE. (1.) Accra to Lome (via Akuse). Accra, the capital of the Gold Coast, is situated a few miles west of the meridian of Greenwich and about 335 miles north of the Equator. The country around is level for some miles, and almost completely denuded of vegetation. Here and there one sees clumps of low bush, but of limited extent, and the whole area is extremely dry. The rainfall is low, and the heat during the dry season is intense. Until recently mosquitos were very troublesome, but owing to the efforts of the Sanitary Department, this nuisance is now very much in abeyance. During the rains, however, and to a less extent in the dry season, the following species have been caught:—Aedimorphus punctothoracis, Ochlerotatus G. palpalis, G. tachinoides and G. morsitans occur. Between Sakpa and Malawe G. tachinoides and G. morsitans were very troublesome all along the road; in fact, I had not seen so many at one time since my visit to the Zantana belt. They were frequent visitors to the rest-house, and Haematopota bullatifrons was also caught there. Between Malawe and Wasipe G. tachinoides and G. morsitans were also plentiful, but no G. tachinoides were caught between Wasipe and Banda N’Kwanta. At the *Bull. Ent. Res. iii, pp. 73-78 (1913). RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. 25 latter place G. morsitans, Tabanus taeniola and T. ruficrus were found. From a _ duiker (red-flanked) a new species of Echestypus was taken. At Bandewa where the - country is moderately open, but with a fair amount of low bush, the following species of blood-sucking insects were caught :—Glossina palpalis, G. tachinoides, G. morsitans, Tabanus gratus, T. taeniola, T. par, T. ditaematus, two new species of this genus, and Culiciomyia nebulosa ; Echestypus sp., and Rhipicephalus simus were obtained from an oribi shot at Bandewa. At Buere the River Volta is again crossed; this is the boundary between the Northern Territories and Ashanti, and also the southern limit in this region of G. morsitans and G. tachinoides, with the exception of Kintampo. At and near the Volta River at Buere the following blood-sucking insects were caught :—G. tachin- oides, G. morsitans, G. palpalis, G. longipalpis, Tabanus taenola, T. sp. near con- goiensis, and Haematopota sp. near noxialis. At Bwe Camp, some distance up the River Volta, G. palpalis, G. tachinoides, G. morsitans and the rare G. medicorum were caught. Between Buere and Kintampo G. palpalis, G. tachinovdes, G. longrpalms, G. morsitans, Tabanus par and T. taeniola were caught. It is highly probable, however, that the G. tachinoides and G. morsitans were sporadic examples which followed the natives and cattle across the river. Kintampo is the headquarters of a Provincial Commissioner and a Medical Officer. One company of the West African Frontier Force is also stationed there. At this town five species of Glossina have been captured, viz.: G. palpalis, G. tachinordes, G. pallicera, G. morsitans and G. longipalpis. Recent extensive clearing along the tiver banks has caused an enormous reduction in the numbers of these insects, and Dr. Ingram, the Medical Officer stationed there during my visit, was strongly advocating further clearing. In this work he was warmly supported by Capt. Breckenridge, the Provincial Commissioner. The water supply at Kintampo is derived from a number of springs which have been well cleared. Recently a new native town has been built under the supervision of Mr. Ross, the Commissioner, and Dr. Ingram ; it is a model of what can be done in the erection of sanitary native towns. , Other blood-sucking flies which have from time to time been caught at Kintampo include Anopheles costalis, A. rhodesiensis, Stegomyia fasciata, Stomoxys calcitrans, Hippocentrum versicolor, Haematopota gracilis, Tabanus subangustus, and T. taeniola (8.) Kintampo to Coomassie (via Sunyani). This road passes partly through savannah forest and partly through monsoon forest (see Map). Between Kintampo and Nyine Glossina longipalpis was the only blood-sucking insect seen, but towards Wenchi, in adddition to this species, G. fusca and G. palpalis were caught. Wenchi is a recently opened station, and is now the headquarters of a District Commissioner. In this area G. palpalis, G. pallicera, G. fusca and G. longipalpis are common, while Tabanus kingsleyi and Hippocentrum versicolor were also caught. Near Chirah about 14 miles from Wenchi G. palpalis, G. fusca, Hippocentrum versicolor, Haematopota gracilis and H. tenwicrus were obtained. Sunyani is a Provincial Commissioner’s station, and, through the untiring efforts of Mr. T. E. Fell and Dr. W. M. Wade, the blood-sucking insect fauna of the surrounding district is fairly well known, as may be gathered from the map. The 26 JAS. J. SIMPSON—-ENTOMOLOGICAL following have been found in and around Sunyani:—Glossina palpalis, G. caliginea, G. pallicera, G. nigrofusca, G. fusca, Rhinomyza stumulans, Stomoxys brunnipes, Tabanus kingsleyi, T. ruficrus, T. wanthnus, T. albrpalpus, Hippocentrum trimaculatum, H. versicolor, Haematopota sp. near cordigera, Stegomyia fasciata, Culiciomyia nebulosa, Culex tigripes var. fuscus, Ochlerotatus cumminsi, Eretmopodites chrysogaster and Anopheles costalis. This list may be taken as indicative of the insect fauna of this region, while the detailed records of the various species of Glossina are shown on the map. The forest is very dense and almost impenetrable all over this district. . Between Sunyani and N’Kwanta G. palpalis and G. fusca were caught on the road, and at Nsuta G. palpalis and T. bestt var. arbuckler were obtained. At the rest-house at the last-named place a species of Semuliwm not yet identified was extremely troublesome. Shortly after leaving Nsuta the monsoon forest was entered, but this did not seem to affect the character of the blood-sucking insect fauna. Between Nsuta and Fufu the following were caught :—G. palpalis, G. fusca, Tabanus ruficrus, T. kingsleyr, T. fasciatus, T. besti, and T. besti var. arbuckler. The only blood- sucking insect seen between Fufu and Coomassie was T. kingsleyr. (9.) Goomassie to Sekondi (by Railway). This railroad runs from Sekondi to Coomassie, a distance of 168 miles. It enters Ashanti at Dunkwa, where it crosses the River Ofin; attains its maximum elevation near Akrokerri, 1341 miles from Sekondi; and then descends gradually to Coomassie, which is 858 feet above sea-level. South of Dunkwa, that is, in the Colony proper, the railway runs through the region drained by the Ankrobra River. The only town on the railway visited and examined by me was Obuasi. This town, the capital of Southern Ashanti, has an elevation of 750 feet above sea-level, and is situated where the railway passes through a narrow gap in the hills which form the watershed between the basins of the River Ofin, and the River Prah. The small streams to the north-west of the town drain into the River Ofin, while those to the south-west are tributaries of the River Prah. Obuasi is a very important gold-mining centre. No tsetse-belt occurs in the immediate vicinity of the town, but Glossina palpalis is occasionally seen there, doubtless brought in by the trains, and G. tabaniformis has also been caught. This species is extremely rare in all parts of British West Africa; with the exception of a few records in the Gold Coast it has been found elsewhere only in Southern Nigeria. Wood is used both for props and as fuel for the mines, and very extensive felling of timber has, therefore, been made. This probably accounts for the absence of tsetse in the immediate vicinity, as the area is thus rendered unsuitable for breeding or shelter. Beyond this clearing, some three miles from the town, G. palpalis is to be found. . According to Dr. W. M. Graham, who carried on prolonged entomological investigations in this region, G. palpalis occurs at the following points on the railway :—Sekondi, 6 miles, 164 miles, 444 miles, 81 miles, 92 ‘miles, 993 miles, 101 miles, 1034 miles, 115 miles, 118, 119 and 120 miles, 124 miles, 126 miles, 127 and 128 miles, 1373 miles, 1483 miles, 156 miles, Coomassie. Glossina fusca was RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. 27 ‘found at the following points :—Sekondi, 101 miles, 127 miles, 138 miles and 1483 miles. Other blood-sucking insects found at Obuasi include :—Stomozys calcitrans, S. brunnipes, S, nigra, S. omega, 8S. wmornata, Tabanus besti, T. secedens, T. marmoratus, Haematopota cordigera, Chrysops dimidiata and C. longicornis. Tabanus kingsleyt was caught at Dunkwa and a specimen of G. pallicera entered the carriage in which I was seated, at Mansu. Sekondi is a very important seaport, on account of its being the railway terminus and the port of entry for the gold mines. Glossina fusca and G. palpalis both occur there; of the latter species I caught one specimen in the hospital laboratory while I was there. Mosquitos were very troublesome at the time of my visit (18th June). The following are the species caught:—Culex invidiosus, C. rima, Ochlerotatus domesticus and O. irritans. Other blood-sucking flies include Tabanus par, T. ruficrus, T. secedens and T. socialis. Stegomyia fasciata is by no means uncommon, but of recent years an enormous reduction in their numbers has been made through improved methods of sanitation. There have been several outbreaks of yellow fever at this port. (10.) Sekondi to Accra. This journey was made overland by way of the coast in order to examine the _ various ports and villages otherwise difficult of access. The coast consists for the most part of low, sandy shore with high cliffs at intervals, and is beaten by a heavy sutf which causes a dense mist for some distance inland. The vegetation at this part near the shore is mostly grass and low scrub, but further inland low savannah forest is predominant. Between Sekondi and Shama Glossina longipalpis was found at several places, whilst at a small creek, about half-way, surrounded by mangrove swamp, G. palpalis was caught. The latter species was captured at Shama along with Tabanus kingsleyi and T. secedens. Shama is an ancient town situated at the mouth of the River Pra with a very old Portuguese fort. The main industry is fishing, and a large amount of fish is dried and smoked in clay ovens. These ovens, when out of use, generally retain water, and are a favourite breeding ground for mosquitos, which consequently are to be found in abundance. Another source of mosquitos is the large number of old canoes containing water in which the fishing nets are tanned. These generally contain innumerable larvae. The River Pra has to be crossed by canoe between Shama and Elmina. This Tegion is surrounded by mangrove swamp, and G. palpalpis abounds there; G. longipalpis and G. fusca were also found during this trek. At Elmina is situated the oldest fort in West Africa; it was built by the Portuguese in the 14th century. A large number of troops were quartered there during the Ashanti Wars; the rate of mortality was very high, and according to some authorities the disease responsible for the deaths was yellow fever. The area around has been well cleared and is kept in good order, but the remarks made with regard to Shama apply equally well for the native town of Elmina. The only mosquito caught was Stegomyia fasciata, but both G. longipalpis and G. fusca were found in the vicinity. - Between Elmina and Cape Coast, a distance of nine miles, no blood-sucking flies were seen. Recently at this station a ridge about 2 miles away from the native 28 ' JAS. J. SIMPSON—ENTOMOLOGICAL town was selected as a segregation area for European officials, and bungalows are being built there. This should improve the health of the officials at Cape Coast, because up till now the intermingling of European quarters and native shops and dwellings was a crying disgrace. Mosquitos are far from uncommon in Cape Coast, but sanitary measures are being stringently carried out, and the good effect of such work is already being felt, and is bound to be still more marked in the near future. The following species are not uncommon Culex decens, Culicoomyia nebulosa, Ochlerotatus minutus, Mansonioides africanus, Stegomyia fasciata and S. sugens. Yellow fever cannot be said to be stamped out in this town, but every endeavour is hae made to secure this end. Before the construction of the Sekondi-Coomassie Railway, Cape Coast was a much more important town than at present, masmuch as the “Great Northern Road” to Coomassie started from this port. It was at Cape Coast that all the troops were landed during the Ashanti Wars, and it was by the above-mentioned road that they emerged on Coomassie. Until recently this road has been neglected, but trade and other considerations have rendered the reconstruction of it advisable, so that the following notes may not be out of place. The Cape Coast-Coomassie road crosses the River Prah at Prahsu; at one place (Moinsi Hill), it attains an elevation of 1,200 feet, and then gradually descends to Coomassie, 858 feet above sea-level. The total length of the road is 120 miles. Running in a north-west direction the road enters Ashanti at Prahsu, and then gradually approaches the railway, which it crosses several times between Eduadin and Coomassie. The portion of the road within Ashanti runs through dense forest and crosses numerous streams, e.g., the Fum, Jym, Dankrang, Adra, and their tribu- taries. In this region G. palpalis, G. pallicera and G. fusca have been found at various places. The available records are included on the map. Between Cape Coast and Saltpond G. longipalys occurs the whole way, but the only other blood-sucking insect found in this region was TI. ruficrus. Much has recently been done at Saltpond in the way of improved sanitation, but the old canoes used for tanning nets are the chief source of trouble for the Medical Officer. From Saltpond to Tantum the road crosses the River Nakwa. G. palpalis were there found, and G. longipalpis is abundant in the region around Tantum. G. longipalpis is also common between Tantum and Winneba at those places where the road leaves the beach and enters the low scrub. These flies followed the carriers in several places to high-water mark. They are also sometimes found in the European bunga- lows in the town itself. Mosauitos are troublesome in the town of Winneba, coming from a swamp behind the town, which is badly drained, and also from the casks and old canoes used for tanning nets. These swarmed with mosquito larvae, mostly Culicine, but also Anopheline. Between Winneba and Feteh G. longipalpis was everywhere abundant — in those regions where the road leaves the beach and enters the low bush. No blood- sucking flies were seen from Winneba to Accra. Reviewing this journey from Sekondi to Accra one sees that the predominant species of tsetse is G. longipalpis ; G. palpalis is found at the mouths of the rivers and G. fusca where the vegetation is dense. Fishing is the principal industry at all the towns and villages, and the casks, old canoes and other receptacles used for tanning nets are the principal factors in maintaining the scourge of mosquitos so RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. 29 prevalent in this region. authorities. This is a point well worthy of the attention of the sanitary IV. Recorps oF Btioop-Sucking INSECTS AND OTHER ARTHROPODS FROM THE GOLD COAST. The following list includes, so far as possible, all the species so far identified, but several more await identification and description. It will be seen from the list of TABANIDAE that our knowledge of this group has advanced considerably since the publication of Austen’s Monograph of the African Blood-sucking Flies in 1909, and doubtless further research will reveal several species not yet found in the regions examined. A noteworthy feature brought out in this list is the fact no fewer than ten different species of Glossina have been found in the Gold Coast. The CuLicipaE also present a rather formidable list. Our knowledge of the distribution of the various species tabulated here is, however, very scanty, and it would be premature to discuss this aspect of the subject, except in a very general way. ‘The various records so far known are referred to briefly in the Narrative, and it is to be hoped that those interested in this subject will collect every available species from as many localities as possible to enable a general idea of the distribution of each to be - arrived at. Order DIPTERA. Family CULICIDAE. Aedomyia catasticta, Knab. Anopheles costalis, Lw. cs funestus, Giles. 43 mauritianus, Grp. a var. paludis, Theo. a pharoensis, Theo. as squamosus, 'Theo. ie rhodesiensis, Theo. rufipes, Gough. Oulea ager, Giles var. ethiopicus, Edw. » annulioris, Theo. » argenteopunctatus, Ventr. » consimilis, Newst. », decens, Theo. », aduttoni, Theo. », jatigans, Wied. » grahami, Theo. » guiarti, Blanch. » wmvidiosus, Theo. », ornatothoracis, Theo. » pruma, Theo. » quasigelidus, Theo. » rima, Theo. » thalassius, Theo. a tigripes, Grp. var. fucus, Theo. univittatus, Theo. Culiciomyia mebulosa, Theo. Eretmopodites chrysogaster, Grah. a9 grahami, Edw. i anornatus, Newst. ‘ie leucopus, Grah. ve oedipodius, Grah. Eumelanomyia inconspicuosa, Theo. Harpagomyia trichorostris, Theo. Hodgesia cyptopus, Theo. Ingramia malfeyti, Newst. Mansonioides africanus. Theo. uniformis, 'Theo. Mimomyia hispida, 'Theo. be plumosu, Theo. ds splendens, 'Theo. $s mimomyiaformis, Newst. Mucidus mucidus, Karsch. = scatophagoides, Theo. Ochlerotatus abnormalis, Theo. Be albocephalus, Theo. a cumminsi, Theo. ae domesticus, Theo. sn furcifer, Edw. - arritans, Theo. 3 minutus, Theo. aa nigeriensis, Theo. nigricephalus, ‘Theo. i punctothoracis, Theo. simulans, Newst & Cart. Stegomyia argenteoventralis, Theo. a apicoargentea, Theo. s fasciata, F Ls simpsont, Theo. ws sugens, Wied. Taenrorhynchus metallicus, Theo. Toxorhynchites brevipalpis, Theo. phytophagus, Theo. Uranotaenia balfouri, Theo. *e ornata, Theo. & mashonaensis, Theo. bf annulata, Theo. = mayeri, Edw. iy bilineata, Theo. » connali, Edw. 30 JAS. Culicoides grahami, Aust. Simulium damnosum, Theo. Phlebotomus antennatus, Newst. Chrysops dimidiata, Wulp. J. SIMPSON—ENTOMOLOGICAL Family CHIRONOMIDAE. | Ceratopogon incomptifeminibus, Aust. Family SIMULIIDAE. Family PSYCHODIDAE. Phlebotomus minutus, Rond. var. africanus, Newst. Family TABANIDAE. Tabanus combustus, Big. i distinctipennis, Aust. 35 sp. near congotensis, Ric. = longicornis, Macq. i ditaeniatus, Macq. Haematopota beringeri, Aust. am fasciatus, F. sh bullatifrons, Aust. AS gratus, Lw. af cordigera, Big. sg zanthinus, Sure. si sp. near cordigera. ws kingsleyi, Ric. ag decora, Walk. He laveram, Sure. 3) gracilis, Aust. 34 marmorosus, Sure. Pe grahami, Aust. 5 obscurtssimus, Ric. st hastata, Aust. 33 par, Walk. ai: isp. near noxialis, Aust. 4 pertinens, Aust. A semiclara, Aust. A pluto, Walk. Af tenuicrus, Aust. " secedens, Walk. oe torquens, Aust. mi sempsoni, Aust. Hippocentrum trimaculatum, Newst. B socialis, Walk. versicolor, Aust. Pha sticticollis, Sure. epihome yea stumulans, Aust. 3 subangusius, Ric. Subpangonia grahami, Aust. Ey taeniola, P. de B. Tabanus albipalpus, Walk. 53 tenutpalpis, Aust. ks bestt, Sure. thoracinus, P. de B. Pe bestt, var. arbucklei, Aust. Thawmastocera akwa, Grinb. ay biguttatus Wied. var. croceus, Sure. Auchmeromyia, luteola, F. Family MuscIDAE. Glossina palpalis, R. D. Cordylobia anthropophaga, Grinb. | 3 tabaniformis, Westw. Glossina caliginea, Aust. fusca, Walk. FS longipalpis, Wied. ar medicorum, Aust. 3 morsitans, Westw. a nigrofusca, Newst. s pallicera, Big. Hippobosca maculata, Leach Clinocoris hemiptera, F. Cienocephalus canis, Curtis. a8 felis, Bouché. Dermatophilus penetrans, L. Argas vespertilionis, Latr. Amblyomma splendidum, Giebel. variegatum, F. Boophilus australis, Fuller. 3, decoloratus, Koch. - tachinoides, Westw. Lyperosia mimuta, Bezzi. Stomoxys brunnipes, Griinb. - calcttrans, Li. 9 imornata, Grinb. ‘ nigra, Macq. | ss omega, Newst. Family HIPPOBOSCIDAE. | Echestypus sp. Order RHYNCHOTA. Family CLINOCORIDAE. Order SIPHONAPTERA. Family PULICcIDAE. Xenopsylla cheopis, Roths. Family SARCOPSYLLIDAE. Order ACARI. Family ARGASIDAE. Family IxoDIDAE. Haemaphysalis leachi, Aud. Hyalomma aegyptiwm, L. Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Latr. er simus, Koch. Haemaphysalis aciculifer, Warb. RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. 31 V. Insect-Borne Diseases oF MAN AND OTHER ANIMALS. (1.) Malaria. This disease is still one which has to be reckoned with in the Gold Coast. In1910, of the official population six were invalided with this disease and three died of it; of the non-official population, twelve were invalided and twelve died from malaria. In 1911, three officials and twenty-one non-officials were invalided with malaria ; the deaths I have been unable to ascertain. In the Medical and Sanitary Report for the Gold Coast for 1910, the following appears :—‘‘ The curve (seasonal prevalence) for malaria begins to rise slowly soon after the rains set in, and reaches its greatest height in August. There is then a fall and a second, but small, rise in October, followed by another fall. The prevalence of this disease is, of course, in direct proportion to the Anopheline rate. It does not begin to rise until some time after the commencement of the rains, because there has not yet been time for any great number of mosquitoes to be bred and become infected. During the heavy rains, moreover, stagnant pools suited to the habits of the Anophelines are less numerous and are constantly being flushed out by flood water, and it is therefore only when the rainfall is decreasing and these pools remain for longer periods that the great rise in the malarial rate takes place. The small secondary rise . . . is possibly due to the nearly equal rainfall from August to October, which would be sufficient to maintain many suitable pools at a fairly constant level.’ This is very suggestive, and shows the time at which most effective control could be instituted in the way of draining and oiling. Dr. J. M. O’Brien, when in charge of the Accra Laboratory in 1911, in investi- gating the malarial index of the school children of ages ranging from four to fifteen in Accra, found that about twenty per cent. of the children harboured parasites, mostly malignant tertian, a few quartan and rarely benign tertian. He states also that more than half had recently suffered from malaria. (2.) Yellow Fever. This insect-borne disease is still far from uncommon in West Africa. In the early part of 1910 ten cases of yellow fever, nine of which proved fatal, occurred amongst the European population in Sekondi. Three deaths are also known to have occurred amongst natives. In 1911 there were six cases of this disease in Huropeans in Accra and Axim, all of which proved fatal. Cases have also occurred in Kwitta, Cape Coast and elsewhere along the coast, and quite recently two cases in Europeans occurred at Bole in the Northern Territories. It will be seen from the narrative that Stegomyia fasciata is by no means intthd in its distribution, although it is most common along the coast towns. When dealing above with Shama, Saltpond, Winniba, etc., I pointed out the main source of the mosquito supply, and one cannot advocate too strongly the adoption of some measure to mitigate the prevalence of this pest. (3.) Sleeping Sickness. The Gold Coast suffers more from éléoping sickness than any other British Colony in West Africa. The accompanying map shows the distribution of this disease, so far as can be definitely ascertained, but cases from widely diverse localities have been 32 JAS. J. SIMPSON—-ENTOMOLOGICAL - _ treated at various centres (vide infra). the exact localities from which these came are not available, however, and so have not been included on the map. Our knowledge of the distribution of sleeping sickness in the Gold Coast is based chiefly on the work of Drs. Kinghorn and Wade, and their reports should be consulted for further details. In the Colonial Report for 1909 the following occurs: “‘ Sleeping sickness proved more prevalent in Ashanti than in the Colony or the Northern Territories and, in the cases of Wenchi, Sunyani and Cheremankoma this disease almost assumed an epidemic form.”’ In the Report for 1910 the Principal Medical Officer says: ‘“‘ During the year fifty cases of sleeping sickness were treated in the different hospitals, and eleven deaths were recorded ; the disease is more prevalent in Ashanti than in the Colony. The possibility of an outbreak of sleeping sickness in the Gold Coast is now recognised, and efforts are being made to cope with the situation. Towards the end of the year 107 cases were under observation and treatment; their distribution was as follows: Accra 1, British Krachi 1, Coomassie 12, Kintampo 1, Sunyani 15, 70 cases from various Ashanti villages, Gambaga 1, Zuaragu 1, and 5 other cases from villages in the Northern Territories.”” The exact localities of these cases are not available for inclusion on the map. In 1911 seventeen deaths from sleeping sickness were reported in Ashanti and one in the Northern Territories; in all 83 cases were known to exist, six in the Colony and 77 in Ashanti and the Northern Territories. In the Gonja district to the west of Salaga whole villages are reported to have been deserted by the natives on account of this disease. : During Dr. Kinghorn’s tour in Ashanti in 1910 he examined 9,171 natives and found 92 cases of trypanosomiasis ; this gives 1 per cent. of the population infected. In the same region in 1911 Dr. Wade found 32 new cases. In the north-west portion of Ashanti it is estimated that over 1°5 per cent. of the population suffer from this disease; while in Wenchi, a town about half-way between Sunyani and Kintampo, 14 cases were found in 1910, and nine deaths was recorded in that year; in 1911 eight new cases were found, and the proportion of sleeping sickness cases to the total population is estimated at 5 per cent. Thus we see that although Ashanti is the chief focus of the disease, nevertheless it occurs all over the Gold Coast; it is also very prevalent both in German Togoland and in the French Ivory Coast. In the former colony a sleeping sickness camp has been inaugurated at Kluto, and the disease is said to be very common in Bonduku in the Ivory Coast ; this town is not far from the frontier of Western Ashanti. In a heavily forested country like Ashanti wholesale clearing around villages, at wells and ferries is a herculean task, and one which would entail heavy expenditure ; but in the present state of our ignorance of the bionomics of the various species of tsetse,it is the only prophylactic measure which can be effectively employed. (4.) Plague. A serious outbreak of this dread disease took place in the Gold Coast in 1908-9, but was effectually stamped out. No cases have been reported since 1910, and every means is being taken for the extermination of rats and other vermin which might harbour the transmitting insect, Xenopsylla cheopis. RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. 33 (5.) Trypanosomiasis of Stock. Very few cattle are bred in the Gold Coast ; the great majority of those omentereal in the Colony are brought from the Moshi country north of the Northern Territories ; but there is a small breed of non-humped cattle bred in the Addah-Kwitta country, known as Addah cattle. Ofthe cattle brought down from the north and slaughtered in Coomassie for food about 80 per cent. harbour trypanosomes. In Accra during 1911 Dr. J. M. O’Brien found that 17 per cent. of the cattle had trypanosomes, and says *‘ when there was opportunity to make enquiries concerning the animals from which the - smearsoriginated,it was alwaysfound that those with trypanosomiasis were taken from the humped cattle from the North.” In 1912 a large number of Addah cattle were . found to harbour trypanosomes, but Dr. Connal informs me that during 6} months when he was stationed at Kwitta he found none in the cattle in that region. It would thus appear that trypanosomiasis of cattle is all too common in the Gold Coast. Horses also suffer greatly from this disease, and with the exception of a very few places, are restricted to certain districts in the Northern Territor‘es. According to Mr. Beal, the Veterinary Surgeon, Trypanosoma dimorphon, T. pecaudi and T. cazal- bout are equally prevalent in horses, while only the two last-named are ——_ in cattle; the first has also been found in dogs. Two out of 83 sheep examined at Accra were found with trypanosomes similar to those in cattle. Only one case of trypanosomiasis in a goat has been recorded, but no Pig has been found to be infected. (6. ) Spirochaetosis. Dr. J. M. O’Brien records two cases of spirochaete infection in sheep and one in a, goat. VI. Tue Disrripution oF THE GENUS GLOSSINA. In many respects the Gold Coast resembles Nigeria ; the types of vegetation are the same, the distribution of the rainfall is similar, and the differences in the dura- tion of the wet and dry seasons are closely paralleled. The colony of the Gold . Coast may be compared with Southern Nigeria, except that in the latter the delta of the Niger has features peculiar to itself not found in the Gold Coast; Ashanti has its analogue in the northern part of Southern Nigeria and the southern part of Northern © Nigeria ; while the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast are comparable 1 in ey way with the northern portion of Northern Nigeria.» The same species of Glossina, ten in number, are found in both Colonies, and their distribution is limited by the same natural features in both. These species belong to all the four groups described by Austen in his “ Handbook of the Tsetse-Flies.” It must be remembered that the records at present available are far from exhaustive, but the following notes may serve to illustrate the general trend of the distribution of each species. The accompanying map will show this more graphically. Palpalis Group. Four species belonging to this group are found in the Gold Coast. By far the most widely distributed of these is G. palpalis, which is closely associated with all -the river systems. In the Colony and Ashanti it is almost universally distributed, - C 10 C 34 JAS. J. SIMPSON-ENTOMOLOGICAL but in the Northern Territories it diminishes in numbers and is found only in the : vicinity of the White and Black Volta Rivers, where there is fringing forest and a - relatively constant high humidity. as G. tachinoides is the predominant species of this group found in the Northern Territories. It is associated with open country, 7.e., thin savannah forest tending to pure savannah, a relatively low humidity and a prolonged dry season. G. caliginea is found in the Gold Coast only in the heavily forested part of Western Ashanti. In Southern Nigeria it occurs along the coast region. Both of these areas are characterised by a relatively high humidity. ' G. pallicera is also confined to the moist forest region of Western and Southern Ashanti. It is also found in Southern Nigeria at Bout City, where the type of vegetation and the nature of the climate and rainfall are similar. Morsitans Group. Two species of this group, namely, G. longipalpis and G. morsitans, occur in the Goid Coast. The former is found in the denser parts of the savannah forest, and so far has not been seen south or west of the line dividing the monsoon forest from the savannah, while it occurs along the coast in the savannah forest area. A glance at the map will make this most interesting distribution clear. To the north of the savannah forest region it diminishes in numbers and gives’ place to G. morsitans, which, like G. tachinordes, is associated with open country, a low relative humidity, a prolonged dry season, and high temperatures. Fusca Group. ‘Three species of this group are represented in the Gold Coast. G. fusca is the most common, and is found in the densely forested country where there is abundant, shade, and a fairly equable perennial humidity. G. nigrofusca and G. tabaniformis are much more rare, but are found in similar localities. The former has been recorded from the western part of Ashanti and north of Coomassie; the latter in Western Ashanti, in the rain forest in the West of the Colony and near Obuasi. The physical features which favour G. fusca seem also to be suitable for these two species. Brevipalpis Group. : The only species of this group found in the Gold Coast is G. medicorum, of which two specimens were captured at Bwe Camp on the Volta River, three days from Kintampo, by Dr. C. W. 8. Boggs. The species has also been taken on the road between Preniase and Bassa by Dr. A. Ingram, at Obuasi, by Mr. G. C. Dudgeon, and at Sekondi, by Dr. W. M. Graham. I have already discussed in previous reports the main factors which influence the general distribution of the various species of Glossina and would, therefore, refer the reader to these; especially that on 8. Nigeria.* The conclusions arrived at with regard to Nigeria are found to be equally applicable to the Gold Coast. In the narrative (Chapter IIT) a few notes on the association of tsetse and game have been recorded, but it might be well to state here that from observations made in a small area during a short period, I am strongly inclined to think that there is a * Bull. Ent. Res. iii, pp. 189-191 (1912). RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. 35 closer connection between the prevalence of game and G. morsitans than with any other species. This is a subject, however, which demands more concentrated investigation “in a limited area, and in no part of West Africa could this be more effectively carried out than in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, where game is, so far as is known, restricted in its distribution ; where densely populated and uninhabited areas occur; where cattle seem to thrive in some parts and not in others; and where G. palpalis and G. tachinordes exist side by side, the former predominating south- wards and the latter northwards, the same holding good for G. longipalpis and G. morsitans respectively. VU. Parasites oF GAME AND OTHER Mam™ats. During - my tour in the Gold Coast I made a systematic attempt to collect informa- tion as to the various parasites harboured both by domestic animals and game, but J shall confine myself here only to those which are directly connected with this work. Blood-Parasites. Game.—Blood smears taken from eleven different kinds of game gave negative results. Horses.—According to Mr. Beal, the Veterinary Surgeon, Trypanosoma dimorphon, T. pecaudi and T. cazalbous are equally prevalent in horses. Cattle.—Trypanosoma pecaudi and T. cazalbour have been found in cattle. Sheep.—The trypanosomes found in sheep are the same as those in cattle. Dogs.—Only Trypanosoma dumorphon has so far been found in dogs. ‘internal Parasites. Apart from ‘‘ worms,” only “bots” are found internally. Bots taken from the stomach of horses, which had been post-mortemed by Mr. Beal, were identified at ‘Yaba as Gastrophilus equi and others found since that time he is inclined to believe are Oestrus pecorum. From the nasal sinuses of a haartebeeste shot by the author at Tumu several bots were taken ; these have not yet been identified. External parasites. The following arthropod parasites were taken from game shot by the author :— Amblyomma splendidum from bufialo; Hyalomma aegyptium and Boophilus decolor- atus from roan antelope; Amblyomma variegatum from haartebeeste ; Rhipicephalus simus and Hyalomma aegyptium from wart-hog; Haemaphysalis aciculifer and Rhipicephalus simus from reed-buck; Rhipicephalus simus from oribi; and Eichestypus sp. from oribi and two species of duiker. In conclusion, I wish to take this opportunity of thanking His Excellency Sir Hugh Clifford, K.C.M.G., Governor of the Gold Coast, during part of whose tenure of office this investigation was carried out. The greater part of the organisation, however, fell to the Acting-Governor, Major Bryan, C.M.G., and to him and to Dr. F. G. Hopkins, the Principal Medical Officer, I should like to tender my sincere thanks for much sound advice, for many personal kindnesses, and for the expeditious manner in which everything was done to promote interest and facilitate the investiga- tion. To Dr. Tweedy, the Deputy Principal Medical Officer, Dr. Montgomery, the Provincial Medical Officer at Coomassie, and Captain cme C.M.G., D.S.0., Chief C 10 C2 36 JAS. J. SIMPSON—ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THE GOLD COAST. Commissioner of the Northern Territories, my best thanks are also due for much official help and kind hospitality. To Mr. Fuller, C.M.G., Chief Commissioner of Ashanti, Dr. E. V. Graham, Dr. A. Ingram, and the many other officers, both | political and medical, with whom my work brought me in contact, and through whose advice and help delay and loss of time were reduced to a minimum, | must express my indebtedness for the assistance everywhere given, and the whole-hearted sympathy evinced. To those who advanced our knowledge of definite areas by collecting specimens the thanks of the Committee are also due; such collections. have been acknowledged from time to time in this Bulletin, and lists of identifications. have been sent both to the collectors and to the Principal Medical Officer. Bure, ENT. RESEARCH. VoL. V. Part 1. PLATE I. Hig. 1: Koad between Accra and Christianborg showing roadside pools where mosquitos breed. Fic. 2. View near Accra showing the nature of the vegetation. a, i * { y ' a , : = ET Pee pwee ENT. RESEARCH. VoL. V. Part 1. Pears = | hk Fic. 1. View on road at Accra showing the effect of the sea breeze. ‘ Fic. 2. View at Acera to show the nature of the surrounding country. poe, ENT. RESEARCH. Voit. V. -PART 1. Preatre Tl, Fic. 1. View of Nsawam showing the clearing in the forest. Fic. 2. View in Ashanti to show the nature of the vegetation on the banks of the streams. Deas a ~ M Vea iy z 7 . - “ts Me 6° moe Y . ' , baa 7 1 : Jas ! A ‘ x Ey ~* ae: ‘ yey iN + le les ie ; a / 08 Lair cet ae Oe wh 2 cele Toe i) | : te - ¥ hm i ‘ \ ve ! i re [ i 7 i iv « ae ‘ 6 cs ‘ ro meio. ENT. RESEARCH. VoL. V. PART 1. Pere TV. Fic. 1. View of the dam at the Weshiang Waterworks—a breeding place of Mansonioides uniformis. Fic. 2. General view of the town of Cape Coast. 37 SHEEP-MAGGOT FLIES IN AUSTRALIA. By Water W. Froaeartt, F.L.S., etc. Government Entomologist, New South Wales. _ The most serious pests that at the present time are threatening the great wool and — sheep industry of Australia, are the sheep-maggot flies (blow-flies belonging to the genus Calliphora). Until about ten years ago blown wool on living healthy sheep was unknown, sheep that were worried and torn by dogs were blown, and rams that damaged their heads fighting might have to be dressed and cleaned of maggots, but the bush blow-flies had not until about that date acquired or developed the habit of depositing eggs or living maggots in the soiled or damp fleece of the ordinary station paddock sheep. They were first noticed among the stud sheep where the fleece was fine, close, and heavy with yoke; then they found the lambing ewes, attacked the lambs after marking, then any close-woolled dirty wether, and finally infested the rams; so that at the present time we find all classes and sexes fly-blown at some time of the year. The damage and expense caused by the presence of these maggots is three-fold. They usually blow the wool round the tail or rump (some of the best of the fleece) ; they cause the death of many sheep and lambs ; and they are responsible for a great amount of very objectionable and disgusting work, which keeps a number of men doing nothing but crutching and dressing sheep all the year round, entailing a large extra expenditure of time and money on every sheep station. In the first instance, when blown sheep were observed and flies were bred from the maggots, they were almost always the two large yellow species common in both town and country : Calliphora villosa, the larger golden-yellow-bodied fly ; or the somewhat smaller Calliphora oceamiae, distinguished by the bright blue patch on the sides of the abdomen. But fn a very short time the metallic blue blow-fly, Calliphora rufifacies, acquired the habit and is now in the north and north-west parts of this State the chief cause of all the damaged wool. The larvae of the last-named species are darker and not so elongate as the smooth cylindrical maggots of the two former species; they are usually known among bushmen as “hairy maggots,” on account of the fringe of fine fleshy filaments along the sides of the segments. All kinds of dips, dressings and patent mixtures have been tried by the sheep-owners (and numbers of new ones are being placed on the market) to dress the infested wool and inflamed skin, to kill the maggots in the wool, or to keep the flies away from the sheep; but nothing up to the present time has been discovered that will keep the flies from blowing wool for more than a few weeks, in spite of all that the makers claim for their mixtures. After travelling among the sheep stations for some time, I issued a report “ The Sheep Maggot Fly, with notes on other common Flies,” published in the Agriculturnl Gazette of N. S. Wales, January 1905, reprinted and widely distributed among the sheep-owners as a Miscellaneous Publication, No. 809. This was supplemented by a second report in 1910, entitled “ Sheep Maggot in the West,” in the same journal, afterwards reprinted as a Miscellaneous Publication. In 1913, the Cooper Laboratory for Economic Research published my prize essay “The Sheep Maggot-Fly Pest in Australia,” which had been written some time previously. It was not however until about the middle of this year that the sheep- owners took any steps to investigate the matter from a scientific point of view ; though 38 WALTER Ww. FROGGATT—-SHEEP-MAGGOT FLIES it was publicly cated at their first meeting that during the previous year the loss in wool and sheep, at a very low estimate, was a million pounds in New South Wales alone, and it was just as bad in Queensland, and spreading into the other States. In July 1913, a public meeting of pastoralists was convened, at which a committee of station-owners was formed to consider what methods should be adopted to deal with this serious pest, and a deputation waited upon the Minister of Agriculture to ask for assistance and co-operation. He agreed to their request, and through the Experiments Committee appointed the Chief Inspector of Stock, the Government Ento- mologist, and the Sheep and Wool Expert, to draw up a scheme of operations and submit. it for his consideration. The establishment of an Experiment Station in the centre ~ of an area infested with sheep-maggot fly was approved; anda scientific investigator to take charge, and a camp assistant to look after the station, were appointed by the Government. As most of the preliminary work was of an entomological nature, the details, as well as the establishment of the camp, were left in my hands, and a circular was sent out to the district Stock Inspectors making enquiries as to suitable sheep stations in their respective districts where a camp could be formed. The Brewarrina district was chosen, and accompanied by the Stock Inspector, I visited Yarrawin Station on Marrar Creek, about 36 miles from Brewarrina. Through the kindness of Messrs. W. and T. Dickson we were enabled to select a very suitable site near the crutching yards, where large numbers of sheep were yarded and dressed. My son, Mr. J. L. Froggatt, who had specialised in bio-chemistry, was appointed Officer in Charge of the Government Sheep-Maggot Fly Experiment Station, and the camp attendant, Mr. A. Lucas, holds a certificate as a Stock Inspector. The Experi- ment Station consists of a camp containing two large living tents, a laboratory tent, and a kitchen tent. The idea of using tents was that the camp could be moved to another district, if required, with very little expense. Field investigations along various lines were commenced towards the end of Sept- ember, and the writer has himself been spending nearly half his time in camp, study- ing the life-histories, range and habits of the different flies which occur in the district among the sheep, and examining all dead animals, offal, and animal remains found in the paddocks. The Experimentalist is working on the chemical side of the question, studying the different combinations of substances and chemicals that can be used to attract flies to poisoned baits, or to keep them from laying their eggs or maggots upon wool. While a number of experiments have up to the present given only nega- tive results, it is only a question of time before some combination will be found that. may be as attractive as the odour of the wool upon the sheep. There are many important points that will be dealt with during these experiments ; such as the value of the different indigenous birds that are credited with destroying flies or maggots; the best methods to be adopted in laying poison baits for rabbits, dingoes, and foxes; and the value of natural parasites upon the flies, maggots and pupae. Among the predaceous enemies of these flies there are several interesting species, such as the Staphylinid beetle (Creophilus erythrocephalus), popularly known as the “ Devil’s Coach-horse.” These carnivorous beetles are most plentiful under the smaller dead mammals and birds, and must account for a large number of maggots: during the season, for in captivity they seize a maggot as soon as it is dropped into the jar. . IN AUSTRALIA. 39 Another enemy of the adult sheep-maggot fly is the small, metallic dark bronze, sand-wasp, a species of the genus Gorytes (family NyssoniDAkE), known in the bush as the “Policeman Fly,” on account of the rapid manner in which it can snap up a fly from the back of one’s hand with its powerful jaws, and carry it off to its nest. The sheep-owners report that they often notice these wasps on the sheep catching the sheep-maggot flies, but it would require a large army of these insects to do much good. The most important parasite (recently discovered) is a minute, metallic bronzy- green Chalcid wasp with yellow legs and antennae that infests the larvae and pupae of the Hairy Maggot (Calliphora rufifacies). These tiny little parasites lay their eggs in the larva or pupa of the fly, and from a large number of pupae examined an average of twenty Chalcid wasps in all stages of development were obtained from each. Many thousands of these parasites have been bred out in the Laboratory of the Experiment Station at Yarrawin, and at the Insectarium in Sydney, and have been supplied with quantities of adult fly maggots which they readily parasitised in the breeding cages. Large quantities of these parasitised pupae were obtained under the remains of a dead fowl, that had been lying in the paddock about five weeks ; they were dry and hard, resting on the surface of the soil under the decomposed animal matter, among a number of empty pupa cases from which the sheep-maggot flies had emerged. The importance of the discovery of this valuable indigenous parasite, attacking another native insect under natural conditions, and that can be readily transported and bred in captivity, can hardly be over-estimated. Here there is every condition that should lead to the balance being restored in the sheep paddocks, particularly if we can assist the parasite ; for the chances of success are far greater than if we had to depend upon the establishment of an introduced parasite. The practical way for our sheep-owners to utilise this discovery of the officers of the Experiment Station is for them to examine the remains of every dead animal they find in going round these paddocks, and to ascertain whether the pupae of the sheep-maggot fly are being parasitised. If parasites are present, the pupae will be found to contain a number of small maggots or small winged ant-like creatures, instead of the remains of a single fly. In that case, the best way to help in the propagation of the parasite is to sweep up all the pupa cases found under the remains of dead animal and the earth just under- neath (which often contains pupae) and place them in a bag made of mosquito netting ; then tie up the neck of the bag and hang it in the branch of a tree or onafence. The sheep-maggot flies on emergence from the pupae are caught in the mesh of the net and die, while the smaller parasites can easily creep through the holes and fly away to seek fresh prey in which to lay their tiny eggs. At the time of our discovery of this parasite in the North-West district of New South Wales, a similar parasite was recorded from Longreach, Central Queensland, so that the range of this useful insect may be very wide, and though at present we know little of its habits, it may have always been a destroyer of blow-fly maggots. In some instances it may have been the cause of the marked diminution or complete disappearance of sheep-maggot flies that has sometimes been recorded from districts which were previously badly infested. nie oii fi amend, wes hae nas HP 6 nie aes ide et Yona bigex oulf t ~ DP. 'aeon ati of fhe $i vread ha ey letraiwod’ att Gor De a deo qosile, wilt pe ntpearw owdd sofort. heito" qadiieds ai ad siiced! sone 10 vars ogial é ‘othapst uo 4 dual Pee ie Yotistom Sitniat 2 adit oasis wit iiteeoy) ayia oe juny Yi oevinl ali aiealaidady sdanatin hase mat wollow ditty geaw fio! adh asdieniad alid volt stedT # ‘att hw " omg aio} foxes hi, inkl a ab autat & M01? br & Ute att 30 | BG 1 drgmigoleveb io array hy af ot hed ua a .) ef ais, a it we anitade 9 24 Wake 2 uae. dan hides fitness . Abe ae te. Geta bedifigntag seodt To eoiitiep ontanl ae. = o AL eral A m ‘ ie « 4 ‘ hae ae r¢ cee E e* at SUG SPOR tb & Ghd TWA shon- OOS TO SOR ULeS. OOF 10) Deeg ee oe ah. a“ Dy : 63 B00 ¥ 7a tx) ; i 8 SK Pi be 5 4 1°* LS $i 42 * = } £4 ES Oy Be tert Pie ee : rf : A200 Lie ida y |. tad hi en eth oid ' oF FS a te - re < * aaa 9 ¥ ‘ P : " w a ie ~ ’ 4 : j ; 6 ROH) SOG 8 « ‘So » \ a4 ‘ e ° s 4 > - © 1 ; - Z AM? ha at t 4 , 4 ' 4 ) é . A ‘ wr F é » + : E ‘ j * . s , yi ree Cad ¢ . tefi! ‘ am . ‘ 4 6 yey eras 7 ‘ : if ¢ ( 14) t e ; ; e . 4 a ey « ad 5 ery eG pacer ‘ ‘ 4 . , f * r SNF SEPIA OUOEE SNES ey ; 7 yates * ’ woe. te . a * 7 " + * 4 A fa Sees | (ty BE. cee - \ » ‘oes | ry \ f > 2s - 4 ; we re hs ty7 yf PD ots i} Ce ad ae 7 yd 6 : th" ‘ a i, ss BiG ees E WEne ayes ee ae De Pin, bbe 4 pa: ; aver we Pied ai ada dt SITE SAVE Eee TRG alg onal ; : Ved 397) e ‘s i ae ' ee Fim ‘ a j , ' Fr + be PP Pe ” * , v ‘ at - vag ve e | 0 fl ON SOME SPECIES OF CACODMUS, A GENUS OF BEDBUGS (CLINOCORIDAE). By Tue Hon. N. C. Rotuscuip. In the Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine, (2) xxiii, p. 85 (1912), I described as Cacodmus ignotus, sp. nov., a female without locality and compared it with Cacodmus villosus, Stal. The Imperial Bureau of Entomology has lately received from Uganda a pair of a Cacodmus, taken from a bat by Mr. C. C. Gowpry, which differs so little from the specimen described as zgnotus, that I consider the two examples to belong to that species. | C. ignotus is larger and much more elongate than C. villosus, the sides of the pro- notum and of the elytra are slightly less rounded and the hind tibia is somewhat longer than the femur. The differences in the proportional lengths of the antennal segments appear to be less constant and therefore of less importance than I at first considered them to be. The segments, moreover, are very difficult to measure, as a slight deviation of a segment from a horizontal position renders the measurement incorrect. The most conspicuous difference between zgnotus and villosus is the organ of copu- lation of the male. In villosus (fig. 4) this organ reaches somewhat beyond the centre of the sixth abdominal segment, and the groove in which it rests extends to the base of the sixth segment, being covered by the apex of the fifth segment. In C. sgnotus (fig. 5) the penis groove only extends to the base of the seventh segment, and the penis itself reaches just a little beyond the centre of that segment. The penis of C. ignotus, moreover, is half as thick again near the base as in C. villosus. The male recorded by me in Ent. Mo. Mag. xxii p. 86, as,a doubtful C. villosus, and contained in the Cambridge Museum, belongs to C. zgnotus. acodmus sparsilis, sp. nov. (fig. 3). Cacodmus villosus, Roths., Ent. Mo. Mag. (2) xxi, p. 86 (1912) and xxiv, p. 102 (1913) (partem). A female in the collection of the British Museum which I have hitherto considered to be a female of C. villosus exhibits some very trenchant differences from true villosus now that it is mounted in balsam, and doubtless represents a new species. The specimen is rather smaller but more elongate than C. villosus, and the bristles of the body are less numerous as well as somewhat shorter than in that species. The sides of the pronotum are less rounded (fig. 3) and the anterior angle more produced. The curved incrassation within the prothorax, placed in front of the coxal groove, is farther away from the apical angle of the prothorax than is the case in C. villosus and zgnotus (cf. figs 1,2 and 3). The elytra are very strongly rounded laterally, there being no indication of a lateral angle (fig. 3), while the lateral ridge present on the under surface is hardly at all widened anteriorly. The two irregular rows of bristles of the pronotum which are nearest the apical edge contain about 30 bristles altogether, while the number is more than 50 in villosus. The corresponding two rows of bristles along the basal edge of the elytra from the central projection of the scutellum to the point where the margin curves forward, contain in sparsilis about 18 bristles, and ‘in villosus about 30. The hind tibia is slightly longer than the hind femur. One female in the British Museum from Port Natal, off Vespertilio dinyam. THE HON. C. ROTHSCHILD—-ON SOME SPECIES OF CACODMUS. 4 5. Fig. 1. Cacodmus villosus, 9; Transvaal. Be Ti: S ignotus, 92, type; locality unknown. wal 148 ‘, sparsilis, 9, type; Natal. » 4 ve villosus, 3; Nyasaland. 2 tO 5 agnotus, G; Uganda. 43 DESCRIPTION OF A NEW FROGHOPPER FROM BRITISH GUIANA. By F. W. URicu. Entomologist, Board of Agriculture, Trinidad. Tomaspis flavilatera, sp. nov. The adult (fig. 1) is of a light brown colour, with lateral tawny markings forming a narrow border on the outer margin of each tegmen and extending from the base to within one-third of the apex. The anterior part of the tawny margin is slightly broader than the rest. The tegmina are translucent with the usual reticulations at the apex. Head, pronotum and abdomen darker than tegmina. The abdomen'shows through the latter and gives the anterior part of the tegmina a darker colour. Head darker than pronotum with a bronzy sheen. Pronotum rugose. The profile of the face (fig. 1) is constant. Length 8°5 to 8:75 mm. ; \ Fig. 1. Dorsal and lateral view of Tomaspis Fig. 2. Outer lateral view of left flavilatera, sp. nov., 3, X 6 The tegmina harpe (Leitz, oc. I. obj. 3).! are slightly distorted by shrinkage in drying. The male genitalia offer the best and most constant characters for the separation of species of this genus. Fig. 2 represents one of the harpes, which are very much contorted. The object was mounted in balsam without pressure; the parts appear- ing dark in the figure are strongly chitinised. BRITISH GUIANA: on grass and occasionally on sugar-cane. Described from numerous specimens collected by Messrs. J. J. Quelch, G. E. Bodkin, ' F. A. Stockdale and H. W. B. Moore. Type in the British Museum. IT TOH OOH 45, THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM OF MONOPHLEBUS STEBBINGI, VAR. OCTOCAUDATA. By Rost. E. SavaGce, (Pirates V-IX.) Monophlebus stebbingi, Green, var. octocaudata, Green, is a large Coccid belonging to the sub-family MonoPHLeBINArE. It is found on Mango, Jack Fruit, and species of Ficus, in India, but having, for a Coccid, a long life-history—being but single- brooded—it is rarely a pest. Climatic conditions govern the production of large numbers of individuals, so that outbreaks are irregular, occurring at intervals of a few years. Its gigantic proportions, compared with other Coccids—the fully-ripe female often reaching a length of 2 cm.—led Professor Lefroy to suspect that the tracheal system might differ from the usual arrangement found in Coccids, and upon investigation, this was found to be the case. In all other Coccids, with two exceptions mentioned by Newstead,* there are but two pairs of spiracles—the mesothoracic and metathoracic, situated ventrally just posterior to the junction of the pro- and meso-sternum and the meso- and meta- _ sternum respectively. The two exceptions are Stigmacoccus, Hempel, and Peris- sopneumon, Newstead ; the former has, in addition to the thoracic, eight pairs of dorsal abdominal spiracles, while the latter has seven pairs. In the species under consideration there is also this supplementary dorsal series, seven pairs being present. 1. The General Arrangement of the Tracheal System. This is shown in the figure on Plate V. Only the main trunks and branches are indicated, as the minor branches with their ramifications amongst the internal organs form a very complex system, and it would serve no useful purpose to try to represent them. Each mesothoracic spiracle leads into a short wide trunk, which immediately branches ; one branch divides again, and passes anteriorly to the head and mouth-parts, a second branch passes towards the middle line and joins its fellow from the other side, thus forming the mesothoracic transverse tracheal trunk; a third main branch passes posteriorly and unites with an anterior branch from the trunk into which the meta- thoracic spiracle leads, thus forming a longitudinal thoracic tracheal trunk. Hach metathoracic spiracle leads into a trunk which divides immediately into four main branches. One of these, as we have seen, helps to form the longitudinal trunk of the thorax; a second helps to form, as in the mesothorax, a transverse trunk a third and fourth branch pass backwards into the abdomen as a dorsal and ventra trunk ; the dorsal abdominal trunks of each side unite posteriorly. Each spiracle of the abdominal series of seven pairs, leads into a narrow tracheal tube, which soon bifurcates, giving rise to a dorsal and a ventral branch, which join the dorsal and ventral abdominal trunks respectively. The ventral branches from the last three spiracles join the ventral abdominal trunk at the same point. A transverse trachea tube connectsthe dorsal branches leading from the last pair of abdominal spiracles, just posterior to the anus. The arrangement of the spiracles is the same in both male and female insects. * Newstead, ‘‘ Monograph of British Coccidae,”’ i, 1900, p. 15. ROBT. E. SAVAGE—THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM OF 2. The Structure of the Thoracic Spiracles. The structure of the thoracic spiracles was studied (1) by means of whole mounts of the spiracles, obtained by dissecting them out and then boiling in 10 per cent. KOH solution ; and (2) by longitudinal and transverse sections of the spiracles (Plates Vil and VIII). Horizontal sections were not procured because of the difficulty of obtaining them really horizontal. Two fixatives were used :—(1) Corrosive acetic alcohol, and (2) boiling picro-sulphuric (Kleinenberg’s formula). The best results were obtained by using the former. Embedding for seven hours in paraffin wax of melting point 58° C. was found to be very satisfactory.* The thoracic spiracles are situated on the ventral surface of the insect near the lateral margin, the mesothoracic just behind the junction of the pro- and meso- sternum, and the metathoracic just posterior to the junction of the meso- and meta- sternum. The aperture is laterally placed, whilst the “muscle plate” (see below) is ventral and somewhat anteriorly directed (Plate V, fig. 2). In the adult insect the spiracles are in grooves of the integument (Plate VI, fig. 4). The aperture of the spiracle is surrounded by a chitinous rim (Plate VI, figs. 3, 4-C,), which is continuous ventrally with what will be called the muscle-plate (C,), a very strong and thick chitinous structure, which, as will be seen below, serves for the attach- ment of the muscles in connection with the closing apparatus. The aperture leads into a chamber (D) which will be called the collar chamber ;_ this cavity extends on each side (figs 3 and 4), and is well shown in section on Plate VII, figs. 5, 6, 11 and 12. From the base of the collar chamber in the median part arise two jaws for closing the entrance to the tracheal trunk—a ventral and a dorsal. The ventral jaw (Plates VI, VII, VILI—A) is only strongly chitinised on the surface nearest the aperture (Plate VII, figs. 7-10, A). The dorsal jaw (Plates VI, VII, VIII-B) is strongly chitinised on both surfaces and is rigid ; it is always placed behind the ventral jaw (Plate VII, figs. 7-10). In fig. 3 on Plate VI, the spiracle has been pressed somewhat, so that jaw A does not appear to be in front of jaw B. ‘The dorsal jaw is semi-circular (Plate VI, fig. 4) and ends in two processes (HK) which apparently are attached to muscles in connection with the muscle plate, as is indicated in the section figured on Plate VIII, fig. 16. The two jaws guard the entrance to the tracheal tube, but lead first into a cavity (Plate VII, fig. 8; Plate VIII, fig. 16, F), in the ventral wall of which muscles (M) are inserted ; these muscles are attached at their other extremities to the muscle plate ; they are extremely well-developed and almost certainly cause by their con- traction the closure of the spiracle. Upon contraction the ventral jaw (A) (which as stated above is only strongly chitinised on its outer surface) is pulled down on to the dorsal jaw (B) which is practically rigid, and the closure of the aperture effected. In some sections obtained the two jaws are in apposition, and this lends support to the above statement. ‘It is very probable that the two processes of the dorsal jaw (H- Plate VI, fig 4; Plate VIII, fig 16), mentioned above as being attached to the closing muscles, are pulled inwards and thus cause a more effective closure of the aperture. - The tracheal trunk arises from the cavity F and immediately branches (Plate VI, fig 3). It is at first surrounded by a layer of cells with large nuclei. On Plate VIII, fig. 21, is a reconstruction intended to show the relations of the transverse series of sections to a longitudinal section. It explains the peculiar appear- ~*A)l the sections were cut in the summer months, MONOPHLEBUS STEBBINGI, VAR. OCTOCAUDATA. 47 ance of the muscle plate in Fig. 20. This transverse series (obtained from longitudinal sections of the insect) also show well the groove of the integument in which the spiracle lies and the relations of the collar chamber with the external aperture. 3. The Structure of the Abdominal Spiracles. There are seven pairs of abdominal spiracles situated on the dorsal surface, near the lateral margins of the insect and near the junctions of the abdominal segments, but there is no spiracle at the junction of the metathorax with the first abdominal segment. The external opening is surrounded by a chitinous rim; this leads into a chamber (collar chamber of thoracic spiracles) the walls of which are raised into a prominent spiral thread (Plate IX, figs. 22, 23). Projecting into this cavity is a number of teeth, —eight to ten—which are united at their bases ; their free pointed ends almost approxi- mate, leaving a narrow pore—the opening into the tracheal tube (Plate IX, figs. 22, 23, 26). The first part of the tracheal tube is very narrow in the sections examined, and is surrounded by a layer of spindle-shaped cells (G), which suggest a muscular function, and it is highly probable that the teeth are brought together and the narrow lumen occluded by the relaxation of these cells. The teeth appear to bend over to one side as is shown in transverse and longitudinal sections (Plate IX, figs. 22, 26). Imperial College of Science and Technology, South Kensington, S.W. a - ; q ey eg Fe iy i foe shcaeas aibstineal ana DORON chee gop, iter Ae io"8 i Ron . aaa layiotze hi Asin 39 Ben i As tie axial) “yi i* inc f Fyf Wl in| eg Pure ny ‘a is Sw oe aba y Maicttiyucrtoe Sad i ai au ut at Ht iy gan ek has nN i i ” ae 7 e, it if iid roa oul ary? gets eae ditt Te eqn a ae ¢ 5 4 . 1 § 4 : . rage én aie ities “it susliccenitie ae OM ro Aan i Pig eevee ante nn fot oar iC a ee or a ite i etcidede woe oy a Bi, a as ena ernie win adit Dirt Aas Ne yx i ee | | jada Bi vad crag? 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YY vei van a wh At ; , a But ve bo sai RHO i wih | , Ae e 7 @ x P - “a. te ‘ { x a ey ‘ S P , 9 4 ‘oe ‘ > 4 4 Tie : tk 2r6" hie oily 7 5 APR \ ¥ Ms | ' ja? t , ® é o bi rvs a os 4000 bs RO a aia a eeee ayy Oi 7: _ y = “ , t 1 S. ; Y , : ; : Ato A EEN, i enc ! a newbs gave J ry err aig > ein A plandom Bo * 6 nyabi eo) nm Ble Donwene: v2) Yow IB) Piodiwie! ) / 4 tkopendi ff \ Mankuma 5) DogankadeliN Uninhabited feu a Zé eal : Wy P ie © Can ae on a" = asi, AA RR i) i wad) = ‘Wirama =a ip Tafa AUER mo a> e yal OF THE s GOLD COAST, ASHANTI AND “ als NORTHERN TERRITORIES TO ACCOM PANNA oT JAS.J.SIMPSON. Route followed by the author Localities where Glossina palpalis_ was found tachinoldes 5, pallicera yy » caliginea_,, Jongipelpis \,- morsans + fusca es aigrofusca ., tabanitormis,, um ee cael ee meee aly ‘cae 9 ela temper Ser parte bathe cng cnn airs ety tetas | age ana aya a eae p | oA5 : } i i se I WO: area tiga bas 7 Mivhawdodno 2a Jpg. abtbconol sane . 2 Bi $ Wo gohiatn newearapal bis: eee pusiet OO permite oo v5 . Saiaanas Manel es : barwracy ‘ gia) 3 © Word LitOled 8 baa aces Myortasy neon reg, salrerige Des de ae ee et many tecsetnl) ahi ee a 3 ipeninlt be rioting begtigiht ein. Sa eee oan "» opsbwtiert A- = | ual = bs Sa , ys N ry en ae M, ce. ae ’ ae Bi ihe BuLL. ENT. RESEARCH. Vor. V. Parr I. PLATE IX. Transverse Sections R.E. Savage del. Bale & Danielsson, Ltd ABDOMINAL SPIRACLES OF MONOPHLEBUS STEBBINGI. 49 FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIONOMICS OF GLOSSINA MORSITANS IN NORTHERN RHODESIA. By Lu. Luovp, Be tomologist to the British South Africa Company in Northern Rhodesia. (PratEs X-XITI, anp Map.) Since the cessation of the work of the Luangwa Sleeping Sickness Commission in Northern Rhodesia the investigation into the bionomics of Glossina morsitans has been carried on at Ngoa, in the Mpika Division, on the high ground of the Congo-Zambezi watershed. The work included a study of the influence of various bloods on the breeding capabilities of the fly and further investigation of the breeding habits and haunts of the insect in nature. The following notes embody the results of the work during the eight months from January to August, 1913. The climatic conditions during this period are given in Table 1, the temperatures being those of the laboratory. TABLE 1. Showing the Temperature and Rainfall at Ngoa, 1913. Laboratory Temperatures. Rainfall. Av. Max. | Av. Min. Mean. January .. 3 a 3 | i. 4. 3°85 in. (15th—3 1st) February .. a ip nit eileen ae SP 64:8° F. CST” FF. 5:86 March .. ci her gis 64-2° 67°6° 10:40 April ats ete suheeg hovO, 64°2° 68:9° 0:77 May "oy... ae ae A 59-2° 65-2° 0:82 June ce aie a) OOnd 50-1° 57.9° 0:00 July we Ses vse) 64-49 51°8° 58-1° 0:00 August .. ve SS AO Oe 580° _ 64:1° 0-00 Influence of Various Bloods on Breeding Capabilities. In the method which was adopted, a definite number of freshly caught female flies: were fed on goats, monkeys, fowls, ducks and chameleons. In most of the experi- ments the flies were kept in the usual type of fly bottle, four females and two males ineach. A few of the series were kept in large wooden cages with fronts of mosquito: muslin. Records were taken of the length of life of each fly in captivity and the numbers of pupae and aborted larvae which were deposited ; each pupa was also. measured. Nineteen experiments were commenced, of which thirteen were com- pleted. The original intention was to breed the flies through more than one generation on the various bloods, but owing to removal to another part of the country, this was possible only to a very small extent. Pupae were produced in small numbers, especially from June to August, which are the coldest months of the year, when some of the series did not produce a single pupa. The doors and windows of the laboratory were made of loose reeds, so that the flies. were exposed to the full cold at night and obtained no direct benefit from the sun in the daytime, as do the flies in nature. Pupae were being found in the bush in con- siderable numbers during July and August, while during the rains breeding was not active. The artificial conditions in the laboratory thus tended to reverse what takes place in nature. The influence of the low temperatures is shown in Table II, in which C10 D 50 LL. LLOYD—-FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIONOMICS OF are given the percentages of pupae to the number of female flies in captivity in each month. In spite of the small numbers of pupae produced at any time, the influence of the temperature is very apparent. TaBLeE II. Showing the Influence of low Temperature on the Breeding of G. morsitans, Average number Number of Percentage Month. of @ flies in pupae of pupae Temperature. captivity. produced. | to @ flies. | January .. 48 3 6-3 per cent. 69° F. (approx.) February .. 87 11 LD Tangy te 69° March... 109 31 D4 5 55 68° April ea 154 22 we 69° May he 242 24 99 (5 65° June ae 416 19 46 ,, 58° July un 424 19 AS xs 58° August .. 210 18 ci ae 64° Pregnant female flies are not often caught and in captivity usually abort the first larva. No fly produced a healthy larva till after 15 days’ captivity. This would account for the low percentages in January and February compared with that of March. A large number of the flies did not breed at all. In the series which bred most freely (No. 2, on goats’ blood) the breeding was confined to 15 flies, 70 per cent. of them — producing no larvae or only one or two abortions. The fly does not seem to be at all amenable to captivity in this district. There is a tendency in the insect to overfeeding in captivity and this is difficult to control when several require food in the same bottle. On three occasions they have been known to feed till an internal rupture of the gut was caused. In two of these nstances the blood donor was a duck and in the third a fowl. In two of them which were dissected the rupture had occurred in the sucking stomach. The result of such -4 Tupture is that the blood flows throughout the haemocoel and the whole insect ‘takes ona ruddy tinge. One of the flies lived for seven days in this condition but in the ‘others death followed the rupture at once. Of the 19 series used, five (400 @ flies) were fed on goats, four (250 ¢ flies) on monkeys, five(250 9 flies) on fowls, four (250 9 flies) on ducks, and one series (52 9 flies) on chame- leons. The full details of the experiments are given in Table III. Goats were used as representatives of the larger, and monkeys as smaller, mammals. Crocodiles would have been more suitable as representatives of the reptiles than the chameleons which were used, but none could be procured. The flies did not feed well upon the lizards. This was not due to the lack of a desire to feed, but to the difficulty of obtaining the blood, a fly frequently inserting its proboscis into several different parts of the animal and finally giving up in despair. Rather more than 50 per cent. of the 77 flies used did not feed at all. One fly, a female, lived for twenty-three days, taking food on six occasions, while only six survived ten days captivity. It was very rarely that a fly distended itself fully with the blood. They usually ceased to feed when a shght pinkness showed on the ventral surface of the abdomen. No larvae were deposited.* * Cf. Kleine, Deutschen Medizinischen Wochenschrift, No. 45, 1909. GLOSSINA MORSITANS IN NORTHERN RHODESIA. ca “JUSTITIEd xo SUI -INp o1nje10d ule} UOT AQMOIwW Ss HNO PMMA OMMOOoS es ee ‘poonpoid suolji0oqe jo sequnN ‘poyo[ulod se OSoT[} Jo FT ‘ON ATUO f saseo TOPOOA UI poyonpuoy =< = = — |o } “ 8 |“ 98] “ Sh) Gs) so | Fes-Nx 0g [suospmeYy 6I = ee | eae ae 0 eo 25: > BG ae Gb x TA'9OT s 8T aa a Ss ee 0 es = | UP SL «— A'8Z = a “ee oe-c| & Sex -Ol- G06 — PSB S “ LIT | “ O-1TF) “§ O-€G) L@ | OG | HtA-G¢-AT SS : “UTUL ee Xe.¢ "mt re X69,“ 90-€| * 19-9) TT “ SOL «| " “8:8hi- = 8-82 OG 1 08 TAS “TIES T eC =| 2% = | = se ae ee 8-9) CE | Og TTA 'G-ATOT _ a ee Xe ee xX E92 «80-e)<“ 09-9) LT “001 | “ ‘6-O| “ 1 8) Pe | 08 ATE WHT Il See xO-G- + Cexago “ ~ 00-6) 0F-S| SI * “LET | “ (0-0) 0: Tr Ge) 08 AKC SEL see! OL “ 630 X¥-G) WU Gg X1-9| “ Fe-8) “ 8L-G) G — or ae IF | OOT tae Get . 6 “mut 9 °E X6°S Pug aoe. I . ae a 6€ | OS ae ee | ~ 8 = Lees eer STS eee GOL | 20:9G, “ Teee Ge 12 08 THIA'PE-A'G |Z “oe > EXT -ig SES) 8 S| Ve * FUE | Te S.-W) 26 a 08 A'OE-TOE 16 “WUE O'E XE-G “WUE FE XO-9 WU ET-g "wUy, -¢ ET ShepcEeT Shep O.Og Sep F-8h 9F OF | AOE TTT sv0H | : a | Z UNUNTUT, = “UMUIxe, pType) Wsuey 5. f: 5 | . = ® a Se | 2 sory | “som | 1) =e ¢ es “AqiAydeo | o[VUul | o[BUloy = 2 2. ‘quoted x9 eas o UI OI Oo jo & jo SB pos a oe a Pa ae “a ost] = sat) woTyeIn¢g jemuy |g Burg QSBIOAY | OSVIOAY | Eb Ss oe ms = 5 e = n ‘ovdng oY} JO SUOTSUSUIICT @ Gi z jor ‘sueqisrout “1 fo burpoorg pun afvy oy uo spoojg snorana fo aouanyuy ay) buamoyy ‘TIL S14V.L c2 C10 52 LL. LLOYD—-FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIONOMICS OF In the series fed on goats, fowls and ducks there was little difference in the average life of the flies. The best results in this respect were given by the two series (Nos. 15 and 16) on ducks and one series (No. 3) on goats. The flies fed upon monkeys died much more rapidly, though they feed readily on these animals, often doing so when they will not take food from a goat. The low temperatures did not appear to affect the length of life of the flies, though in the coldest weather they were very sluggish and would not feed until they had been warmed by the sun. A comparison of the numbers of pupae produced, making due allowance for the temperature, shows that mammalian blood has no definite advantage over avian in this respect. Those fed upon goats bred a little more freely than those fed upon fowls and ducks; while those fed upon monkeys were less prolific. On the average the pupae produced on mammalian blood are larger than those bred on avian blood. This advantage is four per cent. in length and five per cent. in breadth (Table IV). The difference is obvious in the flies which emerge from the bred pupae. In Table IV the dimensions of 50 pupae collected in nature are included for comparison. TABLE LV. A Comparison of the Dimensions of Pupae bred on Mammalian and Avian Blood. | | Source of Pupae. Number. Average length. Average breadth. | Collected in nature .. 50 6:01 mm. 3°40 mm. Bred on goats .. be 68 STG” «5 3°18. |; gs MONKEYS ah 18 566s, asl ie By Total bred on mammals 86 BTA, 3218) & 4; Bred on fowls .. = 45 Be DO: ots B03. bce ce. gy MOLILCIRS 2 ae 16 BOO wih 305) © oe | Total bred on birds .. 61 ore Hie 30475, In the avian series there was a large proportion of very small pupae. Of these 22 (36 per cent.) measured 5°5 mm. or less in length, while in the mammalian series 11 (13 per cent.) only were of these dimensions. The avian series however also included a few pupae which were equal in size to the largest bred on mammals’ blood. _ The small size of these pupae is considered to be due to the pressure of the clots of blood which form in the sucking stomachs of some of the flies when fed on avian blood.* A fly containing such a clot has the appearance of being newly and fully fed. Their formation appears to be due to an individual peculiarity of some of the flies. The following experiment shows the permanence of the clots when once formed. A cage of 100 tsetse were fed for 20 days on fowls and then starved for ten days. At the end of this period 75 of the flies were dead. They were then examined and of the total 62 were found to have clots in the sucking stomachs, while the remaining 38 were thin. Among the 25 living flies 12 contained clots. Fifty flies which had been fed on monkeys’ blood for 50 days were similarly starved for ten days. Only one of the flies remained alive and examination showed that all of them were thin and con- tained only blood detritus. * Ann. Trop. Med. and Parasitology, vii, no. 2, p. 285. GLOSSINA MORSITANS IN NORTHERN RHODESIA. 53, When a fly containing a blood clot is dissected, the distortion of the contents of the abdomen is found to be considerable. In an extreme case the viscera are pressed into a flat mass against the dorsal body-wall and come away in a cake. If an attempt is made to unravel the gut it is found to be much flattened and breaks repeatedly. The small development of the fat-body is evidence of malnutrition. Thee fiect on the generative organs of the female is very apparent. The ovaries of a newly emerged fly consist of a couple of pear-shaped bodies, the broad ends of which are connected with the short thick oviduct which enlarges into the uterus. The spermathecae, a pair of chitinised capsules, are connected but have separate short ducts which open close together into the anterior end of the uterus on the ventral surface. The branched tubular system which secretes the food of the developing larva is closely attached to the uterus and opens into it on a papilla just posterior to the opening of the spermathecal ducts. The system and the development of the eggs and larvae have been very fully described in the case of G. palpalis.* As the generative products mature, an egg in each ovary grows considerably in size, one being usually more advanced than the other. The mature egg is of the typical Muscid form, being elongated and slightly kidney-shaped. In the case of a female fly which contains a large clot, the ovaries are doubled forward over the uterus in such a way that the mature egg is unable to pass down. The eggs however continue to develop and the oldest one becomes crushed completely out of shape (fig. 1). In Fig. 1. Showing the effect on the developing eggs of G. morsitans of a blood clot in the sucking stomach; ventral view :—a, a, fully developed healthy eggs; b, oldest egg crushed by pressure; ¢, undeveloped eggs ; d, duct of feeding tubes ; e, spermathecae ; f, uterus. the case figured the first egg is seen to have been partly forced into the oviduct, com- pletely blocking up the lumen. In two instances in which pupation of the larvae commenced in the uterus the effect of the pressure was well marked. Pupation was not completed in either case, the cuticle of the larvae becoming dark, but remaining of a leathery texture. In one of these the pressure of the ovaries on the uterus had caused a deep depression in the larva just posterior to the mouth. In the other case the posterior cap was doubled over laterally with one of the protuberances pressing against the body of the larva. Considering the frequency with which the clots are formed it is remarkable that a diet of avian blood compares so favourably with a diet of mammalian blood. * Minchin, Proceedings of the Royal Society, Vol. B76, p. 543; Roubaud, La Maladie du Sommeil, 1909, pp. 427-452. 3 54 LL. LLOYD—FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIONOMICS OF In the attempt to obtain a second generation on the various bloods, twenty couples which had been bred on birds and the same number from the goat series were fed on the blood of fowls and goats respectively. Hach experiment was continued for five months, flies being added as they emerged. None of those which were feeding on the goats became pregnant, while in the fowl series one aborted larva and one healthy pupa were produced. The pupa from which the parent of the latter emerged measured in length 5°6 mm. and in breadth 3°0mm. The offspring measured 6:0 mm. in length and 3°2 mm. in breadth. What little evidence there is therefore shows that there would not necessarily be progressive degeneration in size on a continued diet of avian blood. Relation of the fly to the smaller animals. These experiments point to the conclusion that the advantages of a mammalian diet as opposed to an avian one are not great and are due to the fact that mammalian blood is more easily digested than avian. Under natural conditions however it is not likely that the overfeeding which takes place in the laboratory would occur. While the fly is apparently unable to carry on its species on a reptilian diet, occasional meals of such blood would assist the individual in prolonging life.* The dependence of the tsetse-fly on the larger mammals therefore depends on the ability of the smaller mammals, birds and reptiles to avoid the insect. The behaviour of some of the smaller animals when placed in a cage with tsetse was studied in the laboratory. The flies used were freshly caught and most of the experiments were carried out in a glass cylinder ten inches high and six inches in diameter. The results of these were as follows :-— A. With mammals. (1) Ten flies, three or four at a time, were introduced into the jar containing an adult wild rat ; all were quickly caught and eaten, none of the flies having any chance of feeding. The experiment was repeated twice with the same result. (2) Four flies were placed in the jar with a young wild rat, just weaned; the flies were caught and killed but not eaten. Ten flies were used and none fed. | (3) A burrowing rodent (a species of Murrpae) was placed in the jar with four flies; although of sluggish habits it at once became very alert. Two of the flies were caught and killed at once but not eaten; one escaped and the other was killed later. The experiment was repeated with 20 flies but none fed. (4) A very young specimen of another species of MuripAkE was placed in the jar with four flies. The animal, which was reconciled to captivity, became very agitated, attempting to burrow and squeaking loudly; when the flies went near the head they were caught and mauled; the following day one was still alive but had not fed. (5) A young wild mouse was placed in the jar with five flies. All were caught and eaten in a few minutes. * [Mr. F. W. Fiske has already pointed out (Bull. Ent. Res. iv, p. 103) that the results of laboratory experiments upon the food value of reptilian blood should be accepted with ‘some reserve, as they are not borne out by field observations. Dr. H. L. Duke and Dr. G. D. H. Carpenter have noted that G. palpalis feeds freely on monitor lizards, under natural conditions on the islands in Lake Victoria, and as a result of his own. recent observations in the same locality Mr. Fiske concludes that these lizards con- stitute the most favoured food of that fly.—ED.] GLOSSINA MORSITANS IN NORTHERN RHODESIA. aD (6) A mole rat (Georychus), a burrowing rodent with inconspicuous eyes, no pinnae and protuding incisors, was placed in the jar with ten flies. The animal showed violent agitation, but owing to its sluggish movements had difficulty in catching the flies; at the end of an hour two had fed well and six had been killed. In repetitions of the experiment thirteen more flies were used of which five succeeded in feeding. (7) A species of dormouse was placed in the jar with five flies ; several of the flies attempted to feed, but all were caught and eaten. The experiment was repeated twice with the same result. (8) Five flies were placed with a shrew (Crocedura sp.) and were all quickly caught and eaten. (9) A young banded mongoose (Crossarchus sp.) was placed in the jar with ten fies. .One fly settled on the back and commenced to feed, but was at i once scratched off and eaten ; the others were quickly caught and devoured. B. With birds. | ) (10) Only one experiment was carried out with a bird. A fowl was placed in a large cage (36 in. by 18 in. by 18 in.) and 20 flies were introduced. The fowl was well supplied with food, but by the following morning all the flies had been eaten. C. With reptiles. (11) A skink lizard, five inches in length was placed in a fly tube with three flies. All attempted to feed and one fed full. By the following morning two had been eaten and the other was eaten later. (12) Three flies were placed in a fly tube with a young gecko. On the following day one had fed. The others did not feed during the two following days. The lizard which was very small did not attempt to catch them. (13) A chameleon was placed in the jar with ten flies, two of which fed at once, while others attempted to do so; all were eaten later. Four repetitions of the experiment gave similar results. D. With Amphibia. (14) Experiments were carried out with two species of toad and 45 flies. In each case the flies became quickly incapacitated by the skin secretions and urine which was splashed about the jar. Both toads showed extreme irritation at the presence of the flies. The conditions under which the experiments were carried out were very artificial, the animals, and still more the flies, being eager to escape. Itis apparent however that the tsetse is willing to feed on the smaller animals. On the more active ones it would have little chance of obtaining a meal when they are alert. Many of the small mam- mals are nocturnal and spend their days sleeping in hiding places which are the same in many cases as those which the tsetse haunts. This applies also to many of the nocturnal birds. It is a very common experience to see tsetses fly out of a burrow in the ground or a hollow in a tree, while the numbers of pupae which are taken in such positions show that they are much frequented by the female flies. When asleep, such animals would probably form a ready prey to the fly, as is the case with man and the mosquito. When awake, man rarely allows mosquitos to feed full upon him, but it is a common occurrence to find them fully fed inside a mosquito curtain in the morning. It is therefore possible that these small animals supply a larger proportion of the food of the tsetse-fly than is generally supposed. 56 LL. LLOYD—-FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIONOMICS OF Game destruction. In view of such facts, it is not certain that the diminution of the fly at the time of the rinderpest was due toa reduction of its food supply.* No records of the climatic conditions at that time are available. It is known that both high and low tempera- tures have a considerable influence on the tsetse-fly and from these or some other causes its diminution at the time of the rinderpest may have been merely a coincidence. The evidence is not sufficiently definite to warrant the extermination of the larger mammals. The first effect of such a course would undoubtedly be that man would be more subject to the attacks of the fly. Further evidence of the relation of the fly to the larger mammals could be obtained — by compelling it, under as natural conditions as possible, to attempt to support itself on a diet of the smaller mammals, birds and reptiles. The following experi- ment is therefore suggested. A large fly-proof cage, of some such dimensions as 100 yards long by 50 yards wide and 7 feet high, would be constructed on a piece of country favoured by tsetse-fly and in which breeding places were known to exist. Into this cage would be introduced a number of small mammals and birds, the insecti- vorous species being excluded. A large number of tsetse would then be set free in the cage and daily observations as to their increase or decrease would be made by a well-veiled observer. At the end of twelve months it should be known if the fly is able to continue its species on such a fauna. In this event, increase should occur, since there would be few enemies in the cage. If the numbers of the fly decreased, the experiment would be repeated with the introduction of a few young antelopes, goats or sheep into the cage and similar observations would be made over the same period. If the increase occurred under these new conditions the dependence of the fly on the larger mammals would be made clear. The first of these experiments would also yield evidence as to whether the smaller mammals could act as the reservoir of the pathogenic trypanosomes of man and domestic stock. Distribution of Breeding Places. Searches for the pupae in nature have resulted in the finding of 735 living pupae and 1500 empty cases in 189 positions. A summary of these gives the following results :— (a) In 40 instances the pupae were found in hollows in trees, 75 pupae and 350 cases being taken. The hollows are at varying heights from the ground up to six feet and are sometimes filled with very hard clay and sometimes with soft soil, dead leaves, the droppings of insects and the stomach- castings of birds. When the surface is hard the living pupae are found in crevices or quite exposed on the surface. | (6) In 30 instances pupae were found below trees or branches which slope at an angle or run parallel to the ground before rising. In such positions 129 pupae and 197 cases were taken. The ground was usually very hard and the pupae were taken on or near the surface or in cracks. (c) Beneath fallen dead trees or branches 100 positions yielded 493 pupae and 759 cases; these include the most important breeding places. In such places accumulations of dead leaves and twigs usually occur and the pupae are found among these. When they are absent, the effort to burrow is great and pupae have been taken at a distance of 18 inches from the shelter of the tree. The trunks were often raised one or two feet above the ground, so that there was ample room for any insectivorous animal to search beneath them. * Stevenson Hamilton, Bull. Ent. Res., 1, pp. 113-118. (1911.) GLOSSINA MORSITANS IN NORTHERN RHODESIA. 57 (d) Pupae were found in six instances in the chambers of termite nests in rotten upright stumps ; 19 pupae and 61 cases were found in these positions. In several cases the termites were still living in the nests. (e) In ten instances they were found in the burrows of various animals, 14 pupae and 99 cases being taken. These are usually the holes of bushpig or wart- hog, but pupae have also been found in smaller burrows. (f) Pupae were taken three times in the hollows in old termite mounds excavated by the large mammals for the sake of the salt ; five pupae and one case were found in these. The larvae are thus not always dropped in places where they can hide in the earth or under débris, nor are they always placed in positions where scratching animals could not find them. It is a common feature to find the pupae in places where they are daily warmed by the sun for some hours. This shortens the pupation period, which is dependent on temperature. The one feature which is common to all the breeding places found is that above them there is always some relatively dark spot in which the female fly may rest concealed during pregnancy. It is believed that this, rather than any care for the offspring, is what guides the mother fly in the selection of breeding spots. Special attention has been given to an area of about two square miles (see Map) close to the camp, which has been repeatedly and systematically searched for pupae. This area is bounded to the south and east by the Kalamba, a small stream which rises in a short-grassed swampy plain. As the plain narrows and its sides become steeper the grass becomes long, and it is at this point that the area under consideration commences. The banks of the stream then become steep and for a mile and a half it flows through a dense narrow swampy wood, such as is known in this district as “musitu”’ ; its nature will be gathered from the photographs (PI. x, fig. 1). Beyond this the stream becomes an open swamp till it joins the Kanchibia River a mile further on. ‘The remainder of the area is a mixed open wood with little undergrowth and scanty grass, with a few open spaces due to outcrops of ironstone. Two native paths traverse the area and there is a well defined game path running near the stream. There are also short fragmentary game paths leading to the fords and drinking places, six of which exist and are the only parts of the musitu where water is accessible. In one part a number of old termite mounds, evidently rich in salt, are a great attraction to the game animals. Large animals are numerous in the area, rhinoceros, bushpig, warthog, zebra, eland, hartebeeste, waterbuck, roan and duiker being resident or entering it fairly regularly. In this area 174 breeding places have been found and mapped out in relation to the paths and stream. Of these, 123 yielded less than ten pupae each, 404 in all, an average of 3°25 per position ; these positions will be seen from the map to be scattered generally through the bush with no special relation to the paths. From ten to 50 pupae each were obtained from 38 breeding places, 831 pupae in all, an average of 22 per position ; these positions are all within 150 yards of a native or game path with the exception of four which yielded 10, 13, 20 and 32 pupae respectively and which are in close relation to the salt-licks. Over 50 and under 150 pupae were found in 13 positions which yielded 892 pupae, an average of 68°5 per position; these positions 58 LL. LLOYD—-FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIONOMICS OF bear a very close relation to the paths, nine of them being within a yard, and the remaining four being less than 100 yards from a path. | It has been repeatedly noticed that the farther from a path the search is conducted the fewer are the pupae found, though suitable places may be just as numerous. An instance of this is seen by comparing Pl. x, fig. 2, and Pl xi, fig. 1. The accumulation of dead branches shown in the former photograph is 300 yards from a path and forms an apparently ideal position for pupae; when searched only six empty cases were found. The latter figure shows a similar accumulation which is close to the junction of two paths and a ford; this yielded 19 living pupae and five cases. Two thin prone dead trunks situated about 100 yards from a path yielded 24 pupae and 59 cases, while in a precisely similar position 150 yards further from the path only three empty cases were found. A number of similar instances could be given. It is not amagpesedl that nearly all the breeding phawent in the area have been discovered, as quite a small dead branch may shelter a number of pupae. Those found however are probably representative of the whole and it 1s possible from these data to deduce with some degree of certainty the movements of the female flies. When the female fly has fed, it apparently leaves its host and seeks the nearest suitable hiding place, where the food is digested. In these places also the larvae are dropped. Since the movements of the game from water to feeding grounds are usually along definite routes the advantages to the fly of being near these routes must be very great when it requires another meal. The advantages to the newly emerged fly would be greater still, since the insect requires food on the day after emergence under warm conditions and in the colder months dies if it cannot obtain food during the first three or four days of its life. Ifthe fly emerged at a great distance from the path it might have to wait a very long time for an animal to pass, while near these tracks daily opportunities of feeding would be given, since the native paths are much used by game animals. . The Breeding Season. Evidence has been obtained that in this district breeding is almost confined to the warmer part of the dry season. The searches were conducted from December to the end of August, rain falling during the first six of these months. Positions in which pupae had been found in some numbers during the previous dry season were regularly examined. In 21 searches rom December to the end of June only two living pupae were found, these being taken at the end of January. In seven searches during the latter half of July 44 living pupae were taken. In four searches at the beginning of August 120 pupae were collected ; while six searches at the end of the same month yielded 486 pupae. Had the searches in June been more protracted a few pupae would probably have been found, since flies emerged during August from 27 of the pupae collected. These had probably, been deposited Ree the end of June or very early in July. Under two trees which had been felled by lightning during the early part of the. rainy season, pupae were found in August. The first of these was a tall tree from three to 12 inches in diameter (Pl. xi, fig. 2) which fell across the game path close to a ford. This spot was almost daily visited by rhinoceros and warthog which wallowed in the mud and then cleaned themselves against the fallen trunk. On 18th August, 68 living pupae and five empty cases were collected under the trunk. The empty cases GLOSSINA MORSITANS IN NORTHERN RHODESIA. 59 | were from pupae which had probably been deposited before the end of June. The position was again examined a week later and 22 more living pupae were taken. No flies emerged from these 90 pupae before the end of August, and as they were in such a position that they would have received much benefit from the sun, it is not likely that they would have remained as pupae for more than 60 days. (The pupation period is 62 days at a temperature of 65° F. The mean temperature in the laboratory during this period was 62°, but that to which the pupae were exposed would be higher for the reason given). The second position was under the trunk and branches of a large tree which was broken off six feet from the ground, the broken ends remaining connected. The tree was lying close to the salt-licks. Under this 27 pupae and no empty cases were collected on 22nd August. No flies emerged from these before the end of August. In Table V the numbers of pupae and cases taken in positions which were searched on several occasions are given. In these places pupae were found in increasing numbers during July and August as the weather became warmer. The empty cases which were collected in April were found by deeper excavations and were of old date. As the work was discontinued owing to the abandonment of the Ngoa camp at the end of August, no data are available as to what obtained during the remaining months of the dry season. It is probable however that active breeding would continue through September and October until the commencement of the rains, as the climatic conditions are much the same as in August, the plateau country being never subject to the intense heat of the Luangwa Valley and other low-lying parts. RABE: AV. Showing Evidence of the Breeding Season of G. morsitans. Description of Dates of searches and numbers of pupae (p) position. and empty cases (c) found. | 1. In small hollow | 29. vii. 12. | 5. i. 18. 23. Ime lo | sOwil, 13.) 28. will. 13.) 25, vit, V3: iMpeneenermmk: |p. 10, c. 9. |p. 0, c. 12. | p. 0, ¢. 28. | p. 6, ©. 3. | p. 5, ec. 0. | p. 5, ©&. 0. (Pisa fig. 1.) 2. Large hollow in cs = ieesrinn 13. = i tree trunk. flee. 00. p. .05) Calon) pO, ection p. 1, ¢. VO.) p. 4, ¢. 2. | p. 5, e. 0: 3. Under _ slightly bs : es ale wit, Sd.) 29. wi. 13. raised _living | p. 1, c. 1. | p. 0, ¢. 6. |p. 0, ¢.35.| p. 3, c. 1. |p. 7, ¢. 0. | trunk (Pl. xu, | fig. 1.) sods: 4. At the bases of | annie tau a0s vit. 13. | 18, vill, 13.6 9° two sloping | | Pe ee milo wis fo C2. |. L7, €. Ly il p..ba, i.e 0: trunks (Pl. xi, | fig. 1.) | | 5. Under dead | 28. vii. 13, ie f trunk. ip.» 1, -e. 45. | p. 2, ¢.2 p. £8, er 2: 6. Under _— dead | 1. viii, 13. : trunk and hp 4ae. 28. |p. 4) (e. 2. || p22, e::0: branches. | 60 LL. LLOYD—-FURTHER NOTES ON THE BIONOMICS OF GLOSSINA MORSITANS Summary and Conclusions. 1. G. morsitans is willing to feed on small mammals, birds and reptiles; its~ ability to do so depends on their agility. As it haunts the sleeping places of many of these it probably feeds on Be to some extent when they sleep. 2. Reptilian blood is not suitable to G. morsitans as a continued diet. Mam- malian blood has a slight advantage over avian as a diet, and this is shown by the larger average size of the pupae produced in the laboratory. 3. Some experiment is necessary to determine finally the relation of G. morsitans to the larger mammals. This could be carried out in a large fly-proof cage. / 4. The one feature common to the breeding places found is that in close proximity to each there is some relatively dark place where the mother ay can hide during pregnancy. 5. Pupae are deposited in much larger numbers close to places ve large mammals are certain to pass frequently (e.g., paths, native and game, fords, drinking places) than in places in the general bush. 6. On the high plateau of Northern Rhodesia G. morsitans begins to breed freely about the second month of the dry season (July) and almost or entirely ceases to do so in the rainy season. BuLL. ENT. RESEARCH. Vote Ve" Parr 12 Fig. 1. Ford across a small stream, close to position No. 120, where Pig and Rhinoceros wallow ; the dense bush in the background is continuous for 14 miles, except for places similar to this. Fig. 2. Position No. 155, 300 yards from a path; yielded no pupz and 6 empty cases. | EBGEir. 2Nt. RESEARCH.- Vor. Vo. Part T. PLATE XI. Fig. 1. Position No. 133, 10 yards from path and 20 yards from the wallow (PI. X. fig. 1); yielded 19 living pupse and 5 empty cases. Fig. 2. Position No. 120, close to the wallow; searches, on two days only, yielded 90 living pupsze and 5 empty cases. BuLe. ENT. RESEARCH. VoL. V. PART 1. PreatTEe couk Fig. 1. Position No. 3, in hollow in tree on the left, yielded 26 pupze and 52 empty cases. Position No. 27, in soil in angle between the two sloping trees on the right, yielded 37 pupee and 18 cases; close to path and wallow. Position No. 8, very close to path (in foreground), yielded 11 pupse and 43 cases. Nu BURL ENT oO RESEARCH. Volt. Vi PART 1. PLATE XIII. Fig. 1. Position No. 158, under overhanging ends of log, 100 yards from path, yielded 22 pupsze and 35 cases. Fig. 2. Fence round a Kafir garden; 12 living pups found at short intervals along the bottom of the fence. x x Long grassed Oo | \ plain. oeN rman PLAN OF AN AREA IN WHICH G. MORS/ITANS BREEDS, SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF BREEDING PLACES IN RELATION TO PATHS, ETC. Native Path. -——— Game Path. a—f Fords and Drinking Places. x Breeding spot yielding under 10 Pupe or cases. 10to 60 ” ” ” 50 to150 OC, ” uy ” ” ” Sca/e about / Inch to 255 Yards. Salt Licks. X x \\ Long grassed o\\ plain. \ ‘ ee “ae Pal ee | ier” AL a) \ b x 7 ; 4 vr; ‘sh ; x c ek t ‘ , . 5 ’ : : A, ‘ . Me j 2 ‘ s + Bs rf ” Pa ‘ ] ‘ hy ” , n i $e LF: 61 TWO PESTS OF MAHOGANY IN NYASALAND. By EK. BaLuarp. Government Entomologist, Nyasaland Protectorate. Mahogany trees are attacked by two caterpillars which inflict a large amount of damage every year. One of these, Heteronygmia leucogyna, Hmp. (LYMANTRIIDAE), eats the leaves, while the other, Mussidia albipartalis, Hmp. (PYRALIDAE), bores under the bark, causing much deformity of young trees and the formation of corky excrescences, accompanied by the exudation of resin. ' The main points of the life-history of Heteronygmia leucogyna are as follows. Between 150 and 200 eggs are laid in a single batch, generally low down on the trunk of the tree. These eggs are, when first laid, of a milky-white colour, smooth and spherical, with slightly flattened upper pole. Just before they hatch they become dark owing to the presence of the contained embryo. After about nine days, the young larvae emerge, through the top of egg. When just hatched they measure 3 mm. in length, and are pale yellow in colour, with bunches of fine hairs. The full grown larvae vary slightly in colour, some being very pale, while others are darker, with dark heads. All the larvae have a very flattened appearance, and are marked dorsally with black and red. The length of the full-grown larvae is 3 cm. The pupa is formed in a very slight cocoon consisting of a few threads, generally on the under side of a leaf, or on an excrescence on the bark. The colour of the pupa varies from green to brown. The pupation period lasts for ten days. Both the larvae and eggs of H. leucogyna are heavily parasitised. Two species of CHALCIDIDAE, and one Ichneumon, Ecthromorpha variegata, Brullé, have been bred from the larvae. During May and June nearly 90 per cent. of eggs collected were found to be parasitised, but those collected during September and: October were unaffected. The larvae of H. leucogyna are extremely voracious, and last rainy season practi- cally defoliated the mahogany plantation in the Bwaila Gardens, near Zomba. They were also extremely destructive to the trees shading one of the roads in Zomba town- ship. The bark-borer of mahogany is the larva of Mussidia albipartalis, Hmp. It is most destructive and disfiguring to mahogany trees. Young trees which are attacked by this msect are contorted and twisted, and the growth of the main stem 1s frequently arrested. Large excrescences are formed at the point of attack, and in some cases the entire trunk of the tree is gnarled and roughened, and drips with resin as the result of the activities of these insects. On well-grown trees their depredations are confined to the cambium, but in young trees and small twigs they often bore right down the middle after the manner of a Cerambycid or other wood-boring larva. When climbing plants, such as the chitedze bean are twined round the stem of a tree infested with Mussidia the larvae work spirally round the tree under the stem of the climber, and they generally appear to show a predilection for working where there is some- thing pressing against the tree trunk, or where branches fork. The life-history has been only partially elucidated. The eggs are apparently laid on the trunk. The young larva on hatching begins to bore into the bark at once. The full grown larva is about one inch in length, and is coloured blue-grey, or grey- 62 E. BALLARD—TWO PESTS OF MAHOGANY IN NYASALAND. green, with a broad lateral “ flush ” of either salmon pink or terracotta. This colour- ing is much more noticeable in the young larvae, which appear to be uniformly reddish or pink, but in full-grown larvae the colour is much fainter and scarcely more than a “ flush,” as stated above. On each segment are four conspicuous black tubercles on each side, and two more latero-ventrally. The thoracic shield is black and the head may be black or brown. The pupa is formed in a cocoon of tough white silk, and placed under the rough excrescences produced by the borings of the larva. The pupation period during the cold weather is a month, in the hot weather the time is reduced. This very troublesome insect is parasitised by an Ichneumon and a Chalcid ; but. they do not seem to afford a very efficient check, judging from the amount of damage done. NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. By F. W. Epwarps. (Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) In preparing his first synopsis of the African species of Culex (Bull. Ent. Res., 11, pt. 3, Oct. 1911) the writer relied almost entirely upon characters of coloration for the separation of species, and had made no study of the male genital organs; at the same time it was pointed out that the group of species allied to Culex invidiosus required much additional study before their classification could be regarded as satisfactory. _ It is now possible to give in full the results of further study of the African species of Culex of the pipiens and invidiosus groups. It has been found that, in these groups at least, the species can most readily be separated by means of the male genitalia, and also that one or two names which had previously been sunk as synonyms must in reality stand as good species. In the present contribution figures are given of the male genital organs of eleven species ;_ these, together with the four already illustrated (Bull. Ent. Res., iv, pt. 1, May 1913) comprise all the African Culex with the exception of (1) those with a banded proboscis; (2) those with characteristic leg markings, C. tagripes and C. tipuliformis ; (3) C. pruina, which is described below; (4) C. didiert, N.L., and C. pygmaeus, N.L., which the writer is unable to recognise ; and (5) those with the pale markings of the abdomen situated towards the apices of the seg- ments. As before, all the figures have been prepared by Mr. A. J. Engel Terzi with very great care and accuracy, and I am much indebted to him for his assistance in this difficult piece of work. The male hypopygium of Culex may be described as follows :—The word hypopygium is used to denote all the structures representing the ninth and tenth segments of the abdomen. ‘The ninth segment is typically represented by a small tergite and sternite and a pair of large side-pieces carrying the claspers at their ends. In Culex the ninth tergite is usually about twice as broad as long, the only exception known to me occurring in C. perfidrosus (fig. 12) in which this plate is distinctly longer than it is broad. The sternite, as in most other Cuttcrpag, is represented by a pair of narrow plates just connected in the middle and furnished on their posterior margin with a fringe of hairs; these lobes have been variously termed the setaceous lobes and the -basal appendages ; they are incorrectly regarded by Felt, Theobald, Howard, Dyar and Knab as belonging to the eighth abdominal segment. The side-pieces are very hairy, but without scales; they have processes on their inner side near the apex which bear a leaf-like plate and five or six usually more or less rod-like filaments. The tenth body-segment is represented in the simplest forms of Culex by three sets of paired 64 F. W. EDWARDS—-NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM organs, the unci, harpagones and harpes. The unci (fig. 1, a) are the most dorsally ERAT Fig. 1.—Culex trifilatus, sp. n. Basal parts of hypopygium from above, highly magnified; right side-piece of hypopy- gium, inner side view, enlargement about half that of the basal parts; a, unci; 5, first, b!, supplementary and c, second divisions of the harpagones; d, harpes, with crowns of spines; e, basal projection of the harpes. situated ; they have practically the same form throughout the genus, and are usually very strongly chitinised. These plates are regarded by Dyar and Knab as representing a division of the harpagones, but I believe this view to be incorrect, and prefer to consider them as strictly homologous with the unci of other CuLicipan. The harpagones in the simplest forms of the Culex group (Culiciomyia, etc.) are represented by a single pair of undivided plates, but in all the forms here considered they have a more com- plex structure, consisting of at least two definite divisions, the first one often elaborately split up, the second one usually taking the form of a long straight rod ~ just above the harpes. In some species (as C. pipiens, C. fatigans, C. trofilatus) the first division of the harpagones is clearly divided into two portions, in which case the lower part is here spoken of as the supplementary division (fig. 1, b*). The harpes are provided with a dense crown of spines, and normally they have a long finger-like projection at their base. WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. 65 Normally the small basal parts of the hypopygium (unci, harpagones and harpes) are in the relative positions in which they are shown in this paper, but sometimes (perhaps after use) they take up another position relatively to one another, in which the unci are folded outwards and the harpagones pushed out so that they occupy a position at right angles to the normal one. The figure of C. pallidocephalus (Bull. Ent. Res., May 1913, p. 56) represents these parts in this position; a specimen in which they are thus placed (and the dislocation may occur in any species of Culex) at first sight appears to possess a very different structure from one in which the position is normal. Culex trifilatus, sp. nov. Head with the upright forked scales yellow, a few black towards the sides ; narrow curved scales yellowish-white ; orbital bristles black, except those in the middle, which are yellow. Palpi and proboscis in the female entirely black-scaled. Male palpi longer than the proboscis by the last jomt; penultimate joint with a line of yellowish-white scales beneath, terminal joint with two or three similarly coloured scales at its base beneath. Thorax with dark brown integument, black bristles and small dull bronzy-brown scales, mixed with slightly paler and coarser ones which tend to form indistinct lines; the scales on and near the scutellum yellowish. Abdomen black dorsally, with well-defined yellowish basal bands on each segment, of almost even width, but broadening out laterally into the usual side-spots which are not visible from above. Segments of venter with black apical bands, which in the middle line extend nearly to the base of each segment. Hypopygium of g asin fig. 1. The specific name is derived from the three filament-like divisions of the harpagones, which readily distinguish this species from all others. Legs black-scaled, except the under sides of the femora towards the base, and the tips of the femora and tibiae which are yellowish. Claws normal (7.e. the fore and mid claws of the male unequal, each. with a single tooth, the hind claws of the male and all the claws of the female equal and simple). Wangs with dark brown scales; the fork-cells rather long, the upper one with its base a little nearer to the base of the wing; cross-veins separated by a distance rather less than the length of the posterior one. Lateral vein-scales linear. Length about 5 mm. British Hasr Arrica: 18 g (including type) 31 9, Kabete, xi. 1913 (7. J. Anderson). This species closely resembles C. pallidocephalus, Theo. It differs in having more numerous yellow upright forked scales on the head (in C. pallidocephalus most of these scales are brown) and in the slightly shorter male palpi, which have no white scales towards the apex of the terminal joint on the under side; the dark apical bands on the ventral segments are more distinct and blacker than in C. pallidocephalus. In C. pallidocephalus there are some paler scales on the under side of the proboscis about the middle, especially in the female ; there are quite absent in C. trifilatus. Also the ventral aspects of the femora in C. pallidocephalus are much more extensively pale. Culex anderseni, sp. nov. _ Differs from C. irzilatus as follows :—the narrow curved scales of the head are more golden-yellow, and the brown upright forked scales preponderate over the yellow ones ; the scales of the mesonotum are mainly golden-yellow, with a certain number of (C10) | z 66 F. W. EDWARDS—NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM dark brown ones, most numerous on the posterior third, where the golden yellow ones tend to form two distinct lines, one on each side of the bare space in front of the scutellum ; scutellar scales golden yellow; under sides of femora almost entirely dark; hypopygium as in fig. 2. Length about 6 mm. British East Arrica: 6 (including type) 12 9, Kabete, 2. viii. 1913 (7. J. Anderson); bred from larvae found in a bucket of rain-water on the Government Farm. fv TERZI— “| Fig. 2.—Culex andersoni, sp. n. TERZI_7 ' Fig. 3.—Oulex simpsoni, Then or Larva whitish, with very dark head and siphon. Head tufts composed of 4-6 plumose hairs, the two pairs in the middle very close together. Tuft of antenna at about 3. Comb of eighth segment consisting of a patch of about 60 scales, roughly equal in size. Siphon about 5x 1, pecten consisting of about 15 teeth, reaching nearly half the length of the siphon ; three pairs of ventral hair-tufts and one lateral pair at about 4. WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. 67 Culex simpsoni, Theo. Although this species has really little resemblance to C. andersoni the hypopygia of the two are very similar, the chief differences being that in C. sempsoni (fig. 3) the unci are more sharply pointed and the first division of the harpagones is differently toothed. Culex simpsonr is much smaller than any of the members of the pallidocephalus group (pallidocephalus, mirificus, trifilatus, andersoni) and has the cross-veins more widely separated. ) Fig. 5.—Culex univittatus, Theo. Culex neavei, Theo. This was previously sunk by the writer as synonymous with C. guiarti, Blanch., but it now appears that the two must be kept separate, although no tangible (C10) BQ 68 F. W. EDWARDS—NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, — external characters can be adduced for their separation. The hypopygium of C. neaver (fig. 4) is all but identical with that of C. wnivittatus (shown for comparison with C. neavei and C. sumpsoni in fig. 5). C. neaver can hardly be a variety of C. univittatus, as the hind tibiae are altogether devoid of the white lateral stripe and have scarcely a trace of a pale spot at the apex. A more careful examination of the type male of C. guasiquarti reveals the fact that it is really a specimen of C. neaver and not of C. palldocephalus, as was previously suggested (Bull. Ent. Res., iv, p. 56), and also that the male and female types of C. quasiguiarti probably do belong to the same species. The abdomen is not really banded, although it is rubbed in such a way as to appear so. The name quasiguiarti must therefore fall as a synonym of C. neavei and not of C. puprens or C. pallidocephalus. Single male specimens of C. neavei are in the British Museum collection from Kampala Swamp, Uganda (Capt. A. D. Fraser) and Kisumu, British East Africa (Dr. A. Mouat). Culex guiarti, Blanch. The hypopygium of the type male of this species is too damaged for purposes of illustration, and the figure (fig. 6) has therefore been made from a specimen from. Nairobi (Dr. C. W. Daniels) which was first carefully compared with the type. TERZI— Fig. 6.—Culex guiarti, Blanch. It was found on examination that the West African C. grahami, Theo. has a hypopy- gium extremely similar to that of C. guwiarti, and as the two are very much alike in external characters, it seems best to regard them as merely geographical forms of the WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. 69 same species. C. guiarti var. grahami (fig. 7) differs from the type in having the unci rounded at the tip, no basal prominence on the first division of the harpagones, Fig. 7.—Culex guiarti, Blanch., var. grahami, Theo. ; from Graham’s type of C. pullatus ; lettering as for C. trifilatus (fig. 1). é —P—\ \ | /: Fig. 8.— Culex trifoliatus, sp. n. more numerous spines in the crown of the harpes, and a shorter basal projection. The fork-cells also seem to be rather longer in the West African form, which has a fairly distinct whitish tip to the hind tibia, which the type form has not. 70 ¥F. W. EDWARDS—NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, Culex trifoliatus, sp. nov. Closely resembles C. guiarti, Blanch., var. grahami, Theo., but differs in the hypopy- gium: two of the usually filamentous processes of the side-pieces have become broad and flattened, so that the side-piece appears to have three leaf-like plates; the unci are pointed and the first division of the harpagones is much more elaborately toothed than in C. guiart. Ucanpna: 2 (including type) 19, Kasala, 1.1911 (Capt. A. D. Fraser, R.A.M.C.). ‘Culex invidiosus, Theo. As previously stated, I can detect no difference whatever between the hypopygia of this species and of C. decens. The hypopygium of C. ornatothoracis, Theo., is also identical, and as this form only differs from C. invidiosus in the aggregation of the paler scales of the thorax into two more or less definite spots, there can be little doubt that the two are conspecific. The true C. invidiosus is probably a purely West African species. The hypopygium (fig. 9) is illustrated for comparison with the three following species. Fig. 9.—Culex invidtosus, Theo. Culex laurenti, Newst. Through the kindness of Prof. R. Newstead and Mr. H. F. Carter of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, I have been able to examine the hypopygium of the type of this species (see fig. 10). It proves to be distinct from C. guiartt and the name must therefore be resuscitated. The basal projections of the harpes are broader than © in any of the other species here illustrated, and the first division of the harpagones is differently toothed, the second being well developed, thus distinguishing it from C. perfuscus, which it otherwise somewhat resembles. The species is only known to WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. AL me from the type specimen, and unfortunately no definite external characters can be given to distinguish it from C. guiarte, except that it appears smaller and the thorax has a more reddish tinge. . k= Eta Dees Fig. 11.—Culex perfuscus, sp. n. ; Lettering as for C. trifilatus (fig. 1); note the much divided first and rudimentary second divisions of the harpagones. Culex perfuscus, sp. nov. Ata A blackish species, closely resembling C. invidiosus, but darker; the hind tibiae without any trace of a pale spot at the apex, which in C. invidiosus is usually (but apparently not variably) present. 12 F. W. EDWARDS—-NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, The hypopygium (fig. 11) is readily distinguishable from that of C. invidiosus as follows: the clasper has a rounded prominence near its tip; the second division of the harpagones is rudimentary, being represented by a mere knob, and the first division bears dorsally a strongly chitinised plate which is found only in this species and in C’. lawrentz. | NYASALAND: 52 ¢ (including type) 62 9, Port Herald, 2. iv. 1913, “invaded house”? (Dr. J. H. S. Old); 1 9, Fort Johnston, xu. 1912 (Dr. R. Bury); 3 3, Mlanje, i. 1913(S. A. Neave); 241 9, Fort Maguire, 16. 11. 1910 (Dr. A. H. Barclay). British Kast Arrtca: 1g 1°, Kabete, xi. 1913 (7. J. Anderson). NortTHEerRNn Nigeria: 1g, Zungeru, 13. i. 1911 (Dr. J. W. Scott Macfie). Culex perfidiosus, sp. nov. | Resembles C. anvidiosus so closely that no external distinguishing characters can be pointed out. The hypopygium however is utterly different (cf. figs. 9 and 12), particularly in the form of the ninth tergite and the structure of the side-pieces and ISR tre) i — 9 t Fig. 12.—Culex perfidiosus, sp. n. Basal parts of hypopygium greatly enlarged, from above ; the whole organ less highly magnified, from beneath; a detached clasper in side view; 9t, the abnormally developed ninth tergite. claspers. The ninth tergite is about three times as long as in any other speciés which I have examined, and the lateral processes of the side-pieces are verv peculiar. The basal parts of the hypopygium much resemble those of C. «mvidiosus, but, as in C. perfuscus, the second division of the harpagones is rudimentary. WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. 16) The specific name has been chosen to indicate the deceptive resemblance to C. invidrsus and C. perfuscus. S. Nigeria: 1 ¢ (type), Nesha, 15. ix. 1910, caught in house (Dr. T. F.G. Mayer) ; 1 3g, Lagos, caught in bush, 10. ix. 1909 (Dr. W. M. Graham). N. Nicerta: 1g 2 Q, Lokoja (Dr. C. F. Watson). Brtcian Conco: 1g, Yumbi, 30. vu. 1912 (Dr. F. Mouchet). Culex pruina, Theo. The hypopygium of this species (which is not illustrated) is very characteristic, on account of the short thick harpes, the basal projection of which is very broad and short, much broader than it is long. The harpagones are fairly simple in structure, and appear not to be split into two distinct divisions as in most of the species illus- trated in this paper. Culex pulchrithorax, nom. nov. Pseudohowardina lineata, Theo., Entomologist, xlv, p. 92 (1912) ; nec Culex hneatus, v. Humboldt (1820). An examination of the hypopygium of the single male specimen in the British Museum collection revealed the fact that in the structure of the side-pieces and harpes it closely resembles a typical Culex. This is most surprising as the thoracic orna- mentation is so very different from that of all other known species of the genus. Unfortunately the specific name loneatus has already been used in Culex, so that now this species is transferred to its proper genus it requires renaming. | In addition to the five species of Culex just described as new, the following apparently new species (three and two varieties from the Ethiopian, eight from the Oriental Region) have at various times come to the writer’s notice. The types of all are in the British Museum, and unless otherwise stated have been presented by the collectors. Banksinella fuscinervis, sp. nov. Head with narrow curved scales in the middle, mostly bright yellow, witha small patch of dark brown ones in front; flat scales at the sides, mostly dark brown, but a small stripe of yellow ones in the middle of the dark patch. Basal joint of antennae orange- brown, rest dark brown. Scales of palpi and proboscis all dark brown; male palpi longer than the proboscis by nearly the length of the second (last) joint, which is quite five times as long as the labella. Thorax dark brown, with narrow dark brown and yellow scales, the latter situated mostly round the margin, but not forming a definite yellow stripe as in B. luteolateralis. Abdomen dark brown above, each segment with lateral basal vellowish spots, those on segments 5-7 slightly expanded towards the middle of the segments and thus visible from above. Venter yellowish, with apical dark bands on each segment. Male genitalia almost exactly like those of B. luteolaterahs (wide Carter, Ann. Trop. Med. vi, p. 583, Dec. 1913) but the claspers are not so much swollen in the middle. Legs entirely clothed with dark brown scales, except for the undersides of the femora. Wangs with all the scales brown, no yellow 74 F. W. EDWARDS—NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, ones on any of the veins; lateral vein-scales towards the tip of the wing linear- lanceolate. Bases of fork-cells practically level. Goup Coast: 2 g (including type), Accra, 19. vi. 1908 and 2 9, Obuasi, 8. vii. 1907 and ii. x. 1907 (Dr. W. M. Graham). Type presented by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology. This species resembles B. luteolateralis in its entirely dark hind tibiae, but the absence of pale scales from the wings, amongst other differences, will readily distinguish it. Culex aurantapex, sp. nov. Q. Head clothed with black upright forked scales, and dark brown and golden narrow curved ones. Proboscis with a well-defined yellowish ring just beyond the middle, no yellow scales at the tip. Palpi mainly with dark scales, a few yellowish ones in the middle and at thetip. Thorax black above, clothed with black scales and bristles, a few golden scales scattered over the surface, most numerous on the scutellum. - Abdomen with a few black scales on the first segment; segments 2-4 black-scaled (dorsally), with a few scattered orange scales ; segments 5-8 almost entirely orange- scaled both above and below. Legs: femora and tibiae mainly black (except the under sides of the femora), with scattered yellowish scales ; tarsi black, with narrow yellowish rings embracing both ends of the joints. Wangs clothed with dark brown scales, a very few pale ones towards the base. Lateral vein-scales linear-lanceolate. Fork-cells long, the upper one with its base nearer the base of the wing than that of the . lower. Cross-veins separated by about the length of the posterior one. Length about 6 mm. | British Hast AFrica: 1 Q, Nairobi, 18. vin. 1912 (7. J. Anderson). Type presented by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology. It is quite possible that this is only a strikingly marked variety of C. annuloris, Theo., or C. bitaenrorhynchus, Giles (= C. ager), but the black thorax and the orange tip of the abdomen give it a very distinct appearance. Leicester’s “‘ Taenvorhynchus ” domesticus from the Malay States has a very similar colouring, but has more numerous pale scales on the wings. ; | Leptosomatemyia fraseri, sp. nov. 6. Head clothed with narrow curved and upright forked scales above, a few flat scales at the sides; all the scales pale yellow. Basal joint of antennae orange, without scales; second joint with a whorl of rather long blackish scales; all the joints of the flagellum (except the last two) have the usual whorl of long hairs just before the middle, and in addition a distinct tuft of shorter hairs at the apex on the inner side (a similar tuft occurs in Uranotaenia, Orthopodomyia, Ficalbia and some species of ~ Mimomyia, but is more marked in this species than in any other which I have seen) ; last antennal joint shorter than the penultimate ; whole antennae markedly shorter than the proboscis. Palpi scarcely half as long as the proboscis, thin, without hair tufts, clothed with dark purplish scales. Proboscis shorter than the abdomen, a little thinner at the apex than at the base; basal half with dark purplish scales gradually WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. 75 shading into orange on the apical half. Thorax clothed with light yellow and brown narrow curved scales, the yellow ones forming a broad marginal and a narrow median lime; scutellum with a few narrow yellow scales; pleurae with some patches of silvery-white scales. Abdomen long and thin, with dark purplish-black scales above, each segment with silvery-white lateral patches extending along the greater part of the segment from the base. Genitalia of simple structure, almost exactly like those of Theobaldia ; harpagones not developed. Legs clothed with dark purplish scales, except the under sides of the fore and mid femora, the basal half of the hind femora, the under side of the base of all the tibiae, the outer apical half of the middle tibiae and the base of the first joint of the middle and hind tarsi; in all these positions the scales are creamy-yellow. Claws of fore and mid legs unequal, the larger one with a long tooth near the base; hind claws equal and simple. Wangs with dark brown scales ; the lateral vein-scales lanceolate ; fork-cells a little longer than their stems, their bases practically level. Length about 7 mm. (without proboscis). Ucanpna: | ¢ (type), Kasala Stream, vii. 1910 (Captain A. D. Fraser, R.A.M.C.) ; 1 g, Chagwe Forest, ix. 1910 (Capt. Fraser). Sierra Leone: 1 3g, Daru (Dr. J. C. Murphy). There is no other genus in which this species can be satisfactorily placed, but the type species differs from L. fraseri in its smaller size and much shorter palpi, and in the absence of the apical tufts of short hairs on the joints of the antennac. There can be little doubt that the relationships of L. fraseri are with Mimomyia and Ficalbia, and from an examination of the type of L. lateralis, together with information kindly supplied to me by Dr. Kertész as to the relative lengths of its tibia, I am inclined to assign it to the same position. Eretmopodites chrysogaster, halen In this species the side-pieces of the hypopygium have a long thin projection on their inner dorsal side, which curves downwards and carries at its tip some very long scales which lie close together and at first sight look like a single flattened blade. These structures have been figured by Graham, but inaccurately, as he shows them attached to the base of the claspers ; he also incorrectly speaks of them as the harpes. _ After studying a large number of specimens of EF. chrysogaster, I find that there are at least three distinct forms,* distinguishable mainly by the form of thescales at the tip of the above-described projection of the side-pieces. The differences, which | believe to be varietal rather than specific, are as follows : 1. EH. chrysogaster (typeform). Projections of side-pieces of hypopygium with two very long and rather narrow scales at their tips. Last two joints of male hind tarsi with a distinct paddle-like fringe of scales. Larvae of this form have been received from Sierra Leone—-Matotaka (Dr. J. J. Simpson) and Moyamba (Dr. J. S. Pearson). They have 20-40 scales (usually about * BH. grahami, Edw., should doubtless also be regarded as a form of JH. chrysogaster. In its hypopygium it closely resembles, without being quite identical with, HL. chrysogaster var. semisimplicipes. 76 FEF. W.. EDWARDS—NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM 30) in the comb of the eighth abdominal segment, and there are only two teeth in the pecten. Other larvae of this same form received from Uganda—Kasala (Capt. A. D. Fraser)—were described by the writer as having three teeth in the pecten, two short and onelong. These specimens unfortunately appear to have been lost. 2. EF. chrysogaster var. semisumplicipes, var. nov. Projections of side-pieces of hypopygium with four scales which are considerably broader and shorter than in the type form. Basal lobes of side-pieces carrying a transverse row of hairs as in the other two varieties, but this form is peculiar in having one of these hairs much longer than the others and dilated at its tip. Last two joints of male hind tarsi with much less distinct paddle-like fringe than in the type. ,This variety is represented in the British Museum collection by some specimens from Ashanti—l g, Obuasi (Dr. W. M. Graham) and 4 ¢ 4 9, Akrokerri (Dr. A. Ingram). No larvae have been received. 3. E. chrysogaster var. subsimplicipes, var. nov. Projections of side-pieces of hypopygium with two scales which are considerably broader and shorter than in the type form. Last two joints of male hind tarsi with only a slight (though always perceptible) paddle-like fringe. Larvae of this form have been received from Nyasaland—Mlanje (S. A. Neave). They have from 10-22 scales in the comb on the eighth segment, and three teeth in the pecten, nearly equal in size (one specimen has only two pecten teeth). No other differences from larvae of the type form are apparent. Adults have been received from Mlanje and also from Zanzibar (Sebeleni Swamp, Dr. W. M. Aders). Probably all East African specimens are referable to this variety. Leicesteria omissa, sp. nov. Head: scales black above, white at the sides, a narrow white rim round the eyes and a small white spot on the nape; clypeus bare. Basal and second joint of antennae with small flat white scales. Proboscis and palpi entirely black-scaled ; in the female the palpi are nearly two-thirds as long as the proboscis. Thorax clothed with dark chocolate-brown scales above, margin narrowly white-scaled, pleurae white-scaled. Scutellum with flat blackish scales, some dull creamy ones on the middle lobe. Abdomen black-scaled above, first segment with a broad white patch extending evenly along the whole of each side; segments 2-7 with the usual large, oblique, subtriangular white patches, their upper edges concave. On segments 6 and 7, but not on 2-5, are small basal lateral yellow patches. The white patches do not quite reach the hind margins of the segments and are only just visible from above. Legs black-sealed ; under sides of fore and mid femora white; hind femora whitish except near the tip and dorsally. Front tibiae markedly shorter than the middle or hind pair; first joint of the hind tarsi practically as long as the tibia. Front claws of male very unequal, the larger claw thick, with a long tooth just before the middle, the smaller one thin and untoothed ; mid claws of male and fore and mid claws of female equal, each with a minute tooth ; hind claws in both sexes, small, equal and simple. Wangs with the first fork-cell with its base a little nearer the base of the wing than that of the second ; lateral vein-scales linear or nearly so. WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. ii Male hypopygium: claspers much expanded apically and bearing a comb which consists of one long tooth (at the apical end) and about thirteen shorter ones; basal lobes of side-pieces with three long teeth ; a patch of scales on the inner dorsal margin of each side-piece near the base. | Larva of the Armigeres type; elongate, whitish. Antennae short, cylindrical, the tuft represented by a single hair situated at 4. Head tufts small; of the two median pairs one consists of two hairs, the other of three. Comb of eighth segment with about 10 scales. Siphon about as broad as long; no trace of a pecten; the small two-haired tuft situated a little beyond the middle. Anal brush well developed ; gills large, slightly unequal in size. CEYLON: 2 9 (including type) 2 9, Colombo (Major S. P. James) ; 49, Peradeniya, bred from larvae in bamboo stumps (£. E. Green). IL. omissa much resembles, and may be a variety of, L. dolicocephala, Leic., the only difference being the absence of yellow lateral spots on segments 2—5 of the abodmen. In other instances similar difierences have been proved to be specific, and they are therefore accepted as such in the present case. Unfortunately the male genitalia of L. dolicocephala have not been described. L. omissa approaches the genus ae mogeres in the greater number of teeth in the claspers. Ochierotatus annulifemur, sp. nov. Head clothed with broad flat scales, which are white at the sides; black above, except for a white stripe on each side of the middle line. Proboscis rather short, scarcely as long as the antennae, clothed with dark brown scales, except for a narrow white ring in the middle. Palpi longer than the proboscis by their last joint, clothed with dark brown scales, except the last joint, which is whitish. Thorax clothed above with narrow curved scales, which are for the most part dark brown, but there are some yellowish brown ones on the front margin and a patch of the same colour on each side just in front of the wings. Scutellum mostly denuded, but some flat white scales are left. Abdomen clothed with black scales above, with white lateral patches at the base ofeach segment. Legs clothed mainly with blackish brown scales, without any lighter ones intermixed ; a narrow white ring before the apex of each femur; all femora and tibiae narrowly white at the tips, and all the tarsal joints narrowly white at both ends. Wungs clothed with brown scales, except for a few white ones near the base of the subcosta ; the lateral vein-scales are fairly broad, except towards the apex of the wing. Bases of fork-cells about level. Length about 4mm. Inpia: 1, Jhansi, N.W.P., Aug. 1900 (Zt.-Col. G. M. Giles). The specimen was Giles’ 3 type of Stegomyia pipersalata, but since that name has been restricted to the female, Giles’ type ¢, which belongs to quite a different species, requires re-naming. It could not possibly be confused with any other Oriental species. Ochlerotatus jamesi, sp. nov. Head with flat scales at the sides, two black patches alternating with two white ones ; narrow yellowish scales on the occiput. Palpi and proboscis clothed with dark 78 F. W. EDWARDS—NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. brown scales. Thoraz reddish brown, clothed dorsally with small narrow dark brown scales and some yellowish ones, the latter tending to form spots; scutellum covered with snow-white flat scales. Abdomen blackish above, with basal white bands on each segment ; large dull white lateral spots, not visible dorsally ; venter yellowish white, the apical margins of the segments dark. Legs with dark brown scales; under- sides of femora white ; all femora and tibiae with silvery-white apical spots; tarsal joints rather narrowly whitish at the base, the white rings not extending on to the apices of the joints. Wangs with the bases of the fork-cells practically level. Length 4-5 mm. Ceyton: 3 @ (including type), Colombo (Major S. P. James); 1 9, Galle, 6. iv. 1907 (1. Bainbrigge Fletcher). This species is very similar to O. lowisi (Reedomyra lowisi, Theo.) and O. taeniatus (Lepidotomyia taeniata, Leic.), from both of which it differs in the tarsal markings, the pale rings being entirely confined to the basal ends of the joints. The female from Galle was determined by Theobald as R. lowis:. — Ochlerotatus macfarlanei, sp. nov. Head with a large patch of creamy narrow curved scales on the nape, round this patch is a broad border of flat black scales, and again a narrow border of yellowish narrow curved scales round the eyes; creamy flat scales at the sides; upright forked scales mainly black. Proboscis dark, the middle half with creamy scales beneath and at the sides, some whitish scales on each side at the tip. Antennae blackish, the basal jomt with a few small flat yellowish scales, the second joint with some black scales. Palpi in the male reaching to the base of the labella, the last two joints with long pale hairs, bent downwards as usual, but not swollen ; black, except for a few white scales about the middle of the basal joint and a patch of silvery white scales at the base of the terminal joint. Female palpi black, tipped with silvery white, hardly a quarter as long as the proboscis. Thorax reddish brown, with well-marked lines of golden scales, arranged as follows: a double median line extending as far back as the bare space in front of the scutellum; a line on each side of this extending the whole length of the mesonotum; and a line round the front margin, bent inwards on each side about the middle of the mesonotum and then continuing straight back to the scutellum; scutellum with narrow curved golden scales; pleurae with patches of flat white scales. Abdomen black above, with silvery white basal bands on each of segments 2-8, interrupted in the middle on segments 6 and 7; each of segments 2-6 has a pair of roundish creamy yellow spots in the middle, these spots are rather variable in size and in one or two specimens are wanting; there are some ill-defined patches of yellow scales at the sides of the segments. Venter clothed with yellow and black scales in - varying proportions; when well exposed silvery basal lateral patches are seen on some of the segments. Ovipositor prominent, yellow, without cerci. Legs black; the femora pale ventrally; all the femora and the fore and mid tibiae with a longitudinal creamy yellow stripe, hind tibiae with a creamy yellow patch at the _ base beneath; front and middle tibiae with a white patch at the apex above; front and middle tarsi with white spots on the upper surface at the base and apex of the first and second joints and at the base of the third; hind tarsi with white rings WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. 79 embracing both ends of the joints, fifth joint entirely white. Front and middle claws of male unequal, the larger with two teeth, the smaller with one; hind claws simple in both sexes. Wings with dark brown scales; the lateral vein-scales slightly clavate. Fork-cells with their bases practically level. Hone Kone: 41 § 82 9 (Dr. H. Macfarlane). This is a very distinct species, though in its thoracic markings it resembles O. pseudotaenratus, Giles, and Stegomyza trilineata, Leic. The abdominal markings are peculiar, but are paralleled by Orthopodomyia. To judge from the description Doleschall’s Culex aureostriatus must resemble this species rather closely, but it has the white bands on the abdomen at the apex of the respective segments. Culiciomyia bahri, sp. nov. Head clothed with black upright forked scales and yellowish narrow curved scales in the middle; flat scales at the sides, which are white below and purplish black above, the white ones however extending upwards along the eye-margins towards the middle line, but they do not as in other members of the genus quite reach the middle. Basal joint of antennae blackish, without scales. Palpi and proboscis black-scaled. In the male the palpi are longer than the proboscis by a little more than the length of the last joint, the penultimate joint is only a little shorter than the terminal, and about three times as long as the labella; the projecting scales on the basal joints are much fewer, shorter and more difficult to see than in any other member of the genus. Thorax with the usual dull (matt) greyish-brown integument, clothed with small narrow dark brown scales, lighter on the scutellum. Pleurae pale, un- scaled, without any dark markings. Abdomen clothed with blackish brown scales above, whitish ones below ;_ no trace of white lateral spots at the bases of the segments, but a few paler scales at the apical corners. Male genitalia with spiny claspers and with the second plate of the harpagones long, pointed and serrate below, as in all other species of the genus. Legs entirely dark-scaled except for the under sides of the femora and the lateral aspect of the hind pair. Wangs with dark brown scales; the lateral vein-scales towards the apex of the wing are linear. Fork-cells rather long, the upper one about twice as long as its stem and with its base a little nearer the base of the wing than that of the lower. Cryiton: Badulla (Dr. P. H. Bahr), a series bred from larvae, 3 ¢ (including type) 4 0 in the British Museum, other specimens in the London School of Tropical Medicine ; 1 9, Hakgala, and 1 9, Peradeniya (#. E. Green). The specimens were all at first thought to be C. fragilzs, Ludlow,* but there are abundant distinctions between the two, C. bahri having narrower lateral vein-scales, fewer flat white scales on the orbital margins, fewer outstanding scales and a longer penultimate joint to the male palpi, and in the genitalia more rounded side-pieces and a shorter basal projection on the harpagones. In scale characters C. bahrz resembles Culex almost as much as Culiciomyia and might be considered as invalidating the *Culicomyia fragilis, Ludlow, = Culex fragilis, Ludlow, = Trichorhynchus fuscus, Theo, = Culiciomyia inornata, Theo, = C. ceylonica, Theo. The writer’s previous identification of _ O. fragilis with the African Culiciomyia nebulosa is incorrect. 80 F. W. EDWARDS—NEW SPECIES OF CULICIDAE IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, latter genus, but as in the surface of the mesonotum and the structure of the male genitalia it is a typical Culiciomyra the genus is retained for the present. Lophoceratomyia hewitti, sp. nov. Head dark brown, clothed mainly with whitish narrow curved scales, which are densest near the eyes; flat white scales at the sides, which extend up towards the middle line, as in most other species of the genus. Male palpi not quite as long as the proboscis, the last two joints not curved upwards, about equal in length and almost devoid of hairs; no finger-like process at the base. Antennae of J: basal joint without scales, with a blunt prominence on its inner side; joints 2-7 without any specially developed scales or hairs; eighth jomt with a small bunch of crumpled scales on its under or inner side; ninth segment with the usual long bent process, probably consisting of several scales adhering together ;_ tenth and following segments normal, without any scales. Thorax brown above, clothed with dark brown scales and bristles, two lines of long bristles running the whole length of the mesonotum ; scales on scutellum pale; pleurae yellowish. Abdomen clothed with dark brown scales above and dirty white ones below. Legs with dark brown scales, femora white- scaled beneath; claws of fore and mid legs of male unequal but apparently all simple. Wings with the lateral vein-scales with their apices slightly expanded ; base of first fork-cell considerably nearer the base of the wing than that of the second. SaRAWAK: Matang (J. Hewitt), 4 J (including type) 1 2 in British Museum ; other specimens (paratypes) in Cambridge Museum. - Type presented by the Cambridge Museum. This species resembles L. brevypalpus, Theo. (— eminentia, Leic.) in its short male palpi and in the form of the basal joint of the antennae, but differs in the absence of any tuft of scales on the sixth or seventh antennal segments. Except for the curious basal joint the antennae closely resemble those of L. minutissuma (Theo.).* Lophoceratomyia quadripalpis, sp. nov. ¢. Head clothed rather sparsely with dark narrow curved and upright forked scales ; flat whitish scales at the sides, which extend up to the middle line as a very narrow border round the eyes. Palpi dark-scaled, longer than the proboscis by a little more than the length of the last joint; last two jomts turned upwards, hairy ; a distinct finger-like process at the base of each palp on the outer side. Proboscis dark-scaled. Antennae with the basal joint unscaled, normal in shape; 6th joint on its outer side with a row or tuft of about six dark brown lanceolate scales, their tips pointed, but not hair-like; seventh, eighth and ninth segments with the usual tufts of black crumpled scales, those on the ninth segment much the longest ; tenth segment with about five lanceolate, sharp-pointed, light brown scales on its under side (very *Lophoceratomyia miuntissima (Theo.)=Culiciomyia minutissima, Theo.= C. nigerrima, Theo.= Melanceonion juxtapallidiceps, Theo. I have recently had an opportunity of examining a good series of both sexes of this species collected by Major 8. P. James in Ceylon. A male had also been included accidentally by Theobald in his series of L. uniformis. The type male of LZ. uniformis has a mammillate basal antennal joint and belongs in fact to the Same species as L. bicornuta, Theo., and L. mammillifer, Leic.; over both these last names L. wniformis takes precedence. . WITH NOTES ON THE GENITALIA OF SOME AFRICAN CULEX. 81 difficult to see); eleventh segment with one or two of the verticillate hairs on the under side thicker than the others; remaining segments normal. Thorax reddish brown, clothed with dark brown scales, scutellum lighter. Abdomen entirely clothed with dark brown scales above, lighter below. Legs with dark brown scales, femora whitish beneath ; claws of front legs unequal, both toothed ; on middle legs unequal, the larger one simple, the smaller toothed. Wings with the lateral vein-scales slightly clavate ; first fork-cell with its base slightly nearer the base of the wing than that of the second. Sarawak (J. Hewitt), 3 3 (including type) in the British Museum; other male specimens (paratypes) in the Cambridge museum. Type presented by the Cambridge Museum. This species rather closely approaches several others. From L. fraudatrix, Theo., it differs in the much smaller tuft of scales on the sixth antennal segment; from IL. rubithoracis, Leic., in having these same scales much less pointed; and from L. taeniata, Leic., in the unbanded abdomen and the larger projection at the base of the palpi. The scales, etc., on the antennae are exactly the same as in L. laenata, and L. quadripalpis may therefore be only a variety of that species. Uranotaenia metatarsata, sp. nov. Head clothed entirely with flat black scales; proboscis black-scaled ; antennal plumes black. Thorax with the dorsum brown, rather thinly clothed with dark brown scales ; pleurae yellowish, unscaled ; no line of flat scales in front of the base of the wings. Abdomen with blackish brown scales, and with small lateral apical pale spots on each segment. Legs entirely clothed with dark brown scales; claws normal. On the front legs the first joint of the tarsus is shorter than the second, curved, with a small tuft of scales on the under side just beyond the middle. Middle and hind legs normal. Wings with brown scales, those on the apical portion of the wing lanceolate. Length about 2 mm. Matay States: 2, marshy ground on Circular Road, Kuala Lumpur, 28. vui. 1903 and 9. x. 1903 (Dr. G. F. Levcester). This is the third species to be described in this genus with modified front tarsi in the male. The other two (U. cancer, Leic., and U. abnormalis, Theo.) have the first joint of the front tarsi of quite different form, and both belong to the other group of Uranotaenca in which there is a line of flat scales in front of the wing-base. ~ (C10) F He a... ae BY ‘dabbe’ cit wit dod rev 1 VE 14 I awn Pe Aa albbin a0 » fad hong it ft poms egal J trot a ney, Pe wit * i t. ant eee | fey 4 ct LaM ] 4 & “ 4 3 Ws t. 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Dee. o (140 Tae babradsn iy on bth § : ; 4 j ‘ ; rs? ia : | “inaxe oie enanetne at 20, “9 aol@ne, oft ye ied? le vaartey & vidd ad on dle igh LP TOOT ; Poy Vig eras ‘ WOM ATE atari f 4 eR sft. ; hi ; Ls i yieeegen LITO ee rt ‘now talkie east da: ; Holacenty si tlie; + 38 taley ; I ie ealnon gad dabloald dia abel. ag (i 3 iw badiols viotitds awl otnaiig 4 Abe WO ek) it a4 to Sing jae Ody eel Hea Gee acy shiv qahaw add co datas To Tey flserte ain Ay Guilt ‘aotava Hd Ite ay Pu Ag instore ‘gore ; ghalos ' rs | tear f jodie ® Wy Theol yeheni’) no bawory velnat (5 f ‘ Bera, % (remactlo’ Qe hp ee aE eit —— ; =. g if le : ed oa 2A | ij qa bygight at ai 1 abe ry Py a ho 83 ON THREE SPECIES OF XENOPSYLLA OCCURRING ON RATS IN INDIA. By tHe Hon. N. CHartes Rortuscuitp, M.A., F.L.S. As it is now generally admitted that one or more of the species of fleas occurring on the common rats, Mus rattus and Mus norvegicus, are concerned in the transmission of plague, the study of these fleas has become a matter of the highest importance in connexion with the prevention of the disease. The first pomt that demands elucidation at the hands of medical entomologists is the identity of the species that is or are responsible. When this point has been satisfactorily determined, attention can be directed to the detailed study of the bionomics of the obnoxious species, as a preliminary to the adoption of appropriate remedial measures. It will be obvious that a sine qua non to a successful attack on the problem is the ability of the investigator to discriminate the various species that he is likely to meet in his researches, and it is the object of the author of these notes to supply a key to the identification of the species of Xenopsylla that occur on rats in India. So far as is known, three species of the genus just named are to be found on Indian rats. These species occur in widely varying proportions, according to the part of _ the country in which the hosts are taken. Not infrequently two—and at times all the three—species are to be found on a single rat. As it happens, the three species_ are very much alike and can only be distinguished with certainty under a good microscope; a hand-lens is absolutely useless for the purpose. Apart from this, the accurate diagnosis of these species requires practice, and it is within the knowledge of the author that some medical officers find no little difficulty in connexion with this matter. Just as an inflammation of the epidermis does not necessarily denote a case of scarlet fever, so the absence of a comb on a rat flea does not prove the species to be Xenopsylla cheopis. Before proceeding to a description of the chief distinguishing characters of the species under consideration a few remarks as to the technique of the necessary examination may not be amiss. Fleas that have been freshly caught or have been preserved in alcohol are sometimes too opaque when examined with a microscope by transmitted light. Such specimens must therefore first be cleared. This is best effected by boiling them for an hour or more in oil of cloves, after which they should be allowed to remain in the oil for a whole day. This procedure however is usually unnecessary, as a suffic‘ently clear view can generally be obtained if a moderate pressure is applied to the cover-slip under which the specimen is being examined. If the specimen be a female and there be a difficulty in observing the receptaculum seminis, it is usually possible to carry out the necessary observations by turning the insect over and examining it again. It may be added that, although as a general rule most fleas are more readily determined from the male sex, in the case of these Xenopsyllas the shape of the receptaculum seminis is so distinctive a character that the females are probably the easier of the two to identify. | vi (C10) F 2 84 THE HON. N. C. ROTHSCHILD—-ON THREE SPECIES OF XENOPSYLLA I, Maus. 1. Xenopsylla brasiliensis, Baker. The long dorsal bristle situated on the seventh abdominal segment in front of the pygidium (the antepygidial bristle) is placed on a long pedestal, which projects beyond the apex of the seventh segment. This is not the case in the female of brasiliensis, nor is it so in either sex of X. cheopis and 1 mm) Thy at . Ste Vid STE | nY a 5 Fig. 1.—Modified abdominal segments of the male of Xenopsylla brasiliensis. F, outer flap of clasper; viiist. and ix st. eighth and ninth sternites. 2.—The same of Xenopsylla cheopis. 3.—The same of Xenopsylla astia. 4.—Receptaculum seminis of X. brasiliensis. 5.—The same of X. cheopis. 6.—The same of X. astia. OCCURRING ON RATS IN INDIA. 85 astia. The outer flap of the organs of copulation is studded with very stout bristles, the longest of which is curved like a boomerang. 2. Xenopsylia cheopis, Roths. The antepygidial bristle is situated on a short pedestal, which is placed at some distance from the apical edge of the seventh segment. The outer flap of the copulatory organs is sole-shaped, its upper edge being more curved than the lower edge. This flap bears nine or ten bristles on the outer surface, these bristles being very much thinner than in brasiliensis and drawn out into a long thin point. The ninth sternite, which usually projects but slightly from the interior of the eighth segment, is widened towards the apex, having more or less the shape of a club of which the upper side is somewhat flattened. The upper margin of this club is as distinct as the ventral margin when viewed by trans- mitted light under the microscope. 3. Xenopsylla astia, Roths. The antepygidial bristle is similar to that of X. cheopis. This species, however, in the male, is easily differentiated from the other two species by the shape of the ninth sternite. This sternite, instead of being club-shaped, has the appearance of a ribbon viewed from a point on its edge, which is due to the ventral margin being strongly chitinised, whereas the sides and upper margin are very thin and transparent. The outer flap of the organs of copu- lation is narrower than in X. cheopis and bears fewer bristles. The species is replaced in Africa by X. nubicus, which differs in minor details only. II. FEMALES. The three species are distinguished at a glance by the shape of the receptaculum seminis. This organ is divided by a deep constriction into a short rounded portion, the “ head,” and a more or less sausage-shaped portion, the “ tail.” 1. Xenopsylla brasiliensis. The “head” of the receptaculum seminis is very much wider than the “tail.” |The abdominal segments III to VI bear ventrally on each side a row of 4 bristles, and the eighth segment has on the outer surface less than 20 bristles. 2. Xenopsylla cheopis. The “tail” of the receptaculum is much longer than in X. brasiliensis and, near the constriction, distinctly wider than the “ head.” The abdominal segments III—-VI bear ventrally on each side a row of three or four, rarely five, bristles, and the eighth segment has less than 30 bristles, usually 20 to 25. 3. Xenopsylila astia. The “tail” of the receptaculum is so strongly widened near the constriction that it is here very much wider than the “head” ; the “tail,” moreover, is shorter than in X. cheopis. The abdominal segments III-VI bear ventrally a row of seven or eight bristles on each side, and segment VIII has more than 30 bristles on: the outer surface. Poy RR ren fa i VIS¥ ad wt beBinoe « al {vit non , vi p i } | ta ay LAS) A Ant ye. \ ey at” aac nila FEAL)” oil oA oe aan ba fieatte @f eas "0 Yr Va leirytin add 1d qa’ 1" £4) "te apes ¢ arkad pal rT, it iT 4 .aybe TOW of adit. tact en , P s viewer don? pe je dies @ a T Jaiog adh aaank id sirmewod béusbew at t apa 4 1a ditiigio ont to. xotsted oie : + rew | ee tte | iT 4 11 f Hild. @6. hyde e ye tylor ata if to da. sd Vc suoet® a ta boda ve b ana’ vaio , Wt A eR Be. Bree LEV Fa ; j : + LADO Git RPO, gf. ot SS he ee mas si aevoroat, agg : 7 rail ensha, i phi t. ih: be 5 rains ‘ ao? , - . id ‘ ing toy Sieh wh. dive crichiten dditice's af sideir thibligei eta” Out ogee ‘Deo sete J r 7 x ie aid} doug ye getiy of aoltaitd sendt gd woemos al SDia: Tey ish edt doidw to 1s lo sega orld “ seas 34 og onty ocd tobe We a pe Se a 2 rr ene, “ye “ | i 72 ‘ a a ; &. a tf eof us me SHPACT * RYY +7 LAL 7th 4 Leo abies Hae y : ss a rt by rhe . me LeU, TS) (tt ‘ Syewot . as ehcp aid’ fan T° Dehpwt Maia ot? Id — dit vi an jing a ‘owed al howely aoddit ato minadaacry a odd aad boquada: titide tgnowd gild engieart lecaer odd offen : i} Ane yas iv ene malt (iy TTR ae arts ¥ | 5 a ea §) ts mt via) yo ity Paqilt tawornld J P a ¢e e ah, id a ; rerl via eee Ty TeV COP TG 5 yh} » dee (a sin Ny . % Ai cee ‘ | habivib, ab.cegite eel id nite | CTH A OG ATT sail zo grog “ihe Fe ; aaf io “baad” odT ‘dhediage tegen edi at ladiopohde ofT “igh” oft, andert iabew. ‘i ' 1 ddd, ont fire -aol cin bo Wor oe bi de se). th | altar : a. asst 90 J a iv asia , i: : Pela a AOR, FA) evga 2 Nanicciok FOC cht deel eid coos. ditlats add het ary fio rit t ¢ Mati ee. RPh; PRE ane Wait ae y : ? 4 hall x ‘lg mae” \¢ A rt oy >, s; AQ vot, 4 Awe hues es bal M7 x what ’ Ot hae aS ch poktarnd 5 = 87 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE LIMITATION AND DESTRUCTION OF GLOSSINA MORSITANS. By J. O. Surrcore, M.B., M.R.C.P.(Edin.) Medical Officer, Hast Africa Protectorate. (SkETCH-Map.) s¢ Primary Fly Centres’: Their influence on the Distribution of G. morsitans. Several months’ constant travelling in the “ proclaimed area” has led the writer to conclude that it contains at least four “ primary centres ” which harbour tsetse-flies, situated as shown on the map as follows : No. 1, opposite Rifu, near Patsanjoka Marsh ; No. 2, W. & S.W. of Kuti Marsh ; No. 3, at Nyansato near the Chitawa Marsh ; and No. 4, along and on each side of the Lingadsi River, between Long. 38° 8’ and 34° 13’ KE. The main reasons why these are defined as “ primary centres” are: (1) Fly are found here abundantly throughout the year. (2) They are present in these situations when there are none or extremely few elsewhere, when the whole country is bare of grass, the trees without foliage, and the ground baked hard. (3) These are the only areas where in the dry season water is actually above the earth’s surface or at no great depth below. For example, at the Lingadsi River the centre is almost definitely limited in length by the water and moisture in the river-bed. At Patsanjoka the water is present throughout the dry season. At Kuti and Chitawa it dries late, but here it is seen that although the marshes are superficially dry, yet during late October and early November, before any rain, fresh grass already springs up and trees begin to put on green foliage in the low-lying country near the marshes ; this is in marked contrast to other parts of the district, e.g., the portions between Nsadzu, Waya and Matumba to Mtalamanja, that being somewhat raised undulating broken country with a fairly rocky surface. (4) It is in these situations that the fly can best feed during the long season of drought ; there are herds of eland and bufialo at the Lingadsi ; waterbuck, hartebeest and eland at Nyansato ; and various species of large and small game at Patsanjoka and Kuti dambos, and numbers of these can be seen at various times resting in the shade during the heat of the day. (5) In these places there is light forest with fairly short grass, here and there open glades, and water at no great distance, a combination which is ideal for both game and fly. The latter feed as the game come to and from water, and the light forest enables them to see and follow the game without difficulty. Heavy forest,and thick high grass impede the flight of tsetses, and moreover they are unable to see any distance. They are sometimes found in such situations, but not in any numbers. The fact that the fly are found at the above-mentioned centres all the year round and that they still exist there at the height of the dry season, when there are few or none elsewhere, makes it quite reasonable to suppose that they breed at these places, and that it is from these centres that they extend into the surrounding country along G 88 J. O. SHIRCORE—SUGGESTIONS FOR THE LIMITATION connecting forest as soon as the conditions become suitable. This is actually observed to take place. During May, June, and early July, tsetses are to be found constantly, though in small numbers, along routes where during August and September they absolutely disappear, or are present in almost negligible numbers, or only at odd times. This applies to almost all the main routes, except just at and opposite the four centres indicated. During late September, October and November a distinct but gradual increase becomes evident, and during November, before the rains, flies re-appear in situations in which they were to be found early in May. Radiations from the primary centres begin about this period, so far as the physical character of the country, the large garden clearings and the seasonal conditions allow. With the onset of the rains the spread increases, as more suitable situations are created ; the rough stony country becomes a habitat and other breeding centres—“ secondary centres ’—are established. The fly thus continues to increase until the rains are over, the streams dry, and the grass withered, and then the hot season with its bush- fires once more performs a natural prophylactic measure. On regarding the subject from this aspect, the measure which I advocate is that the forest connections along which radiations take place should be cut off, or otherwise dealt with, early in the year, about May, so that the actual “ primary centres,” which should have been delimited at the height of the previous dry season, are isolated. After this has been performed, all the trees in these centres should be cut down and left to dry, and by the end of July or August, when the whole country is parched (grass-fires having been strictly prohibited during this period), wholesale and extensive burning should be carried out over these areas, commencing from the side of the “ extensions ” and progressing towards the main and isolated bodies of fly. At Kuti, Nyansato and Patsanjoka (Rifu) this could be done, and with especial ease at the last situation. At Lingadsi it would be difficult, but sufficient could be done here to prevent a southern extension which links up with the north arm of the Nyansato area during the rains. If “extensions ”’ depend on primary sources, as they undoubtedly do, then it must needs follow that their limitation or the lessening of their numbers must lessen the formation of “ secondary centres ” and their “ extensions ”’ and will therefore curtail the distribution and numbers of the fly. 3 | Game plays a minor part in the actual habitat of G. morsitans. _ It is true that in the above-mentioned areas game is plentiful and that blood is necessary to the life of — the fly, but there are numerous situations where game is present in this same pro- hibited area, yet fly are not found, and where fly though present during the wet-sesaon are absent during the dry. The effect of prophylactic forest cleaning on G. morsitans. With a view to mdicate the results of even moderate clearings of some 150 yards around villages in the “ proclaimed area,” a few observations may well be recorded. Before such measures were adopted it was noticed that clearings made for agricultural purposes by the inhabitants of a certain chain of villages lying east of Mtalamanja, and north and south of the River Lipimbi along its course to Lake Nyasa, shewed a decided effect, as compared with other parts of the district, on the distribution of G. morsitans, which was further emphasised by the clearing of areas in the vicinity of AND DESTRUCTION OF GLOSSINA MORSITANS. 89 these villages. African villages as a rule have more or less definite patches of forest, light or otherwise, surrounding them, for various reasons. The paths from such villages leading to main roads, gardens, water supplies and neighbouring villages traverse these patches and it is in such positions that tsetses are found. Where there are groups of villages arranged somewhat in continuity, one does not find much game immediately near or between such habitations, at any rate not during the day, yet in fly districts tsetses are invariably present in such situations, if the conditions are not unsuitable, such as “ dambo ” areas or sandy soil near the lake, and rough rocky elevated country with little vegetation inland. Such places are unsuitable for much vegetable growth, superficial moisture is absent and subsoil water is probably at a great depth; forest cannot support itself and without some continuity of trees, however irregular, fly cannot exist in any numbers. ‘Travelling through such areas fly are not seen, nor are they found feeding on game shot in “ dambos,” except when near the fringe of forest harbouring the fly. It is observed that in favourable places some distance from dense fly “ centres,” one finds small belts or rings of fly con- gregated round villages and in forest patches on one or other or both sides of the roads between villages, the numbers fluctuating according to the season. So that the villagers are constantly fed on, for the greater part of the year, by these flies every time they leave or return to their villages. It is obvious that inland villages must generally be situated, in such positions ; forest is to the native not only an indication of arable land, but is also a protection from heat. and weather conditions ; the timber and grass is utilised for building purposes and fuel. Water supplies must also be near at hand, and as these conditions—7.e. forest and relative humidity, together with the natives, their sheep, goats and dogs—supply all the wants of the fly, they therefore are likely to persist in frequenting these haunts. It is seen that along the River Lipimbi the rough continuity of villages, z.e. 19 over a distance of some 84 miles, their garden-clearings, etc., has performed a natural division of the fly-belt at the junction between its southern extension from the Lingadzi area (No. 4) and the northern extension from the Nyansato area (No. 3). The prophylactic clearings which were adopted made a still further and decided impression, so much so that after the summer grass fires had swept the country scarcely a single fly was noticeable along the road between Mtalamanja’s village and Msosa’s, the latter being situated at the Lake. Again it was noticed that before village clearing was performed, fly which followed one during journeys from Domira Bay—they being first met shortly after crossing the “‘ dambo” opposite area No. 3— kept one company till Matumba’s village, and through Matumba’s group of villages well along the Chunzi Road ; in fact, some invariably came into the Medical Officer’s house at Chunzi with the “ safari.” When subsequently clearing was performed at Matumba’s, it was found that this area acted as a check to the progress of the fly ; they dispersed shortly after passing the edge of the clearings, and the few that followed would be lost while going through the villages. Other instances could be quoted shewing these effects in varying degree, according to the nearness of villages to the main “ fly centres ” and the physical character of the country. For example, some villages are protected from fly by their slightly elevated rocky sites; others by being situated near stream-beds which are dry during the summer and in which the subsoil water is at a depth of 8 to 12ft.; and others by small abruptly rising hills which | 90 J. 0. SHIRCORE—SUGGESTIONS FOR LIMITATION, ETC. OF GLOSSINA MORSITANS. prevent an extension of the fly-belts. When these facts are considered, the formulating of systematic prophylactic measures becomes a matter of comparative ease; but a thorough knowledge of the country is essential. What is suitable in one place may not be so in another, and each area must be dealt with according to its particular requirements. The clearing of villages, the increase of agriculture, the splitting up of fly-belts near villages and along main routes by forest destruction and burning, the attacking of “fly centres,” as indicated above, cannot otherwise than profoundly modify the entire distribution of G. morsitans in inhabited areas. These practical methods would ultimately limit fly to areas which need not be entered by natives while carrying on — their ordinary means of livelihood, and further those who contracted trypanosomiasis, after entering these “‘ segregated fly areas,’ would be harmless as regards the spread _ of the disease. SKETCH-MAP of PROCLAIMED SLEEPING SICKNESS AREA IN DOWA _ DISTRICT, NYASALAND. ox SS SSS CEST) Peeerraas $5 >< ee SSN Se Primary Centres of Glossina morsitans, in which they concentrate in the dry season. Distribution of G. morsitans during the wet season. LZ Open Grassy Plains (dambos). a. Native Villages. ----Boundary of Proclaimed Area. Roads. + 4 il We ae pecan amor A UR Se Get ply wine ~ ay oe Sa : 2 x “rts : a) iy Le Rm =. ad iy ae * - > wn —, yi - =_ 2" ty om Pe 5 iM, : . : pggerevse see rete Mee A eS ah sry oe ss eet eat A io * ay i - SR Fie ook die an ” 4 we v! fiat ~ 91 A DIPTEROUS PARASITE OF GLOSSINA MORSITANS. By Ernest HE. AUSTEN. (Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) The Imperial Bureau of Entomology has recently received from Mr. Ll. Lloyd, Entomologist to the British South Africa Company in Northern Rhodesia, a small Bombyliid fly accompanied by the following letter, dated “‘Mwengwa, Mumbwa, via Broken Hill, N. Rhodesia, November 1, 1913——I am sending you herewith a specimen of a Dipteron, which IJ believe to be a parasite of G. morsitans. During July and August of this year I collected about 700 pupae of this Tsetse in nature at Ngoa, in the Mpika Division of Northern Rhodesia. These were kept under observation until September 15th, when I was compelled to travel through fly-free country for a month; they were accordingly closed up in a fly-proof case to avoid escape (in case of possible fracture of one or more of the bottles containing the pupae), and were not examined again until October 18th. On this date one of the bottles, which had contained five Tsetse pupae collected on July 21st, was found to contain :— “‘(1) Two pupae from which the flies had not emerged. (2) Two empty puparia, with the old Tsetse pupal skin showing inside in the normal manner, and with the head cap normally split. (3) Two dead Tsetse. | , (4) Another Dipteron, very dry and broken. **(5) The pupal case from which this fly had undoubtedly emerged.* “(6) The fifth Tsetse puparium, the head cap of which had been roughly split; this puparium contained no trace of the old pupal skin. “The pupae had been carried in a strong beaker, the mouth of which was closed with three layers of mosquito muslin, so that it would have been almost impossible for the larva of the insect to find its way into the tube. The pupa also seems to be adapted to breaking through hard-cases by means of the short spines on the head. There appears therefore to be no doubt that the pupa of the Tsetse was parasitised at the time of collection, and that the parasitic pupa emerged from it between September 15th and October 18th.” Although, as indicated by Mr. Lloyd in his letter, the parasite thus unexpectedly obtained is somewhat damaged, it is fortunately not so much injured as to prevent *This is of the normal Exoprosopine type, having on the antero-inferior part of the head- capsule a group of four tubercles, or teeth, of chitin, with black, strongly chitinised cutting- edges, and a little further back a pair of similar but smaller teeth on the proboscis-sheath. The dimensions of the pupa case are: length 6mm., greatest breadth 2°6 mm.—E.E.A. 92 ERNEST E. AUSTEN—A DIPTEROUS PARASITE its being described and figured. The insect proves to belong to a new species, which may be characterised as follows :— Famity BOMBYLIIDAE. SUBFAMILY EXOPROSOPINAE. Genus ViuuaA, Lioy. Villa Hoydi sp. nov. (fig. 1.). 3.—Length (one specimen) 5°75 mm.; width of head 2°2 mm.; width of front at vertex 0'25mm.; length of wing 5:25 mm. Black ; dorsum of abdomen marked, as shown in fig. 1, with alternating transverse bands of pale (buff-coloured) and dark (black), narrow, elongate scales, third segment also with a narrow band of white scales, tapering towards middle line where it appears to be more or less widely interrupted ; wings entirely hyaline, discal and third posterior cells shaped as shown in fig. 1; legs black. Fig. 1—Villa loydi, Austen, 3, x 9. Head black; front clothed with buff-coloured scales, mixed on lower two-thirds with fine, erect, blackish hair; face convex and somewhat prominent, but not conical, clothed with bufi-coloured scales and short black hair; occiput clothed above and on upper portion of sides with yellowish white or whitish scales, clothed below with blackish hair ; antennae black, first and second joints clothed with stiff black hair, longer on first than on second joint, third joint bulb-shaped, tapering quickly just beyond middle. Thorax: dorsum, except front margin and lateral borders, clothed with appressed hairs and narrow scales, which are raw-sienna- coloured in front and become pale (cream-buff) on hinder part of main portion and on scutellum; fringe of erect hair on front margin of dorsum yellowish, lateral borders of dorsum, from humeral to postalar calli, clothed with appressed bright yellowish-white hair; postalar calli each with a row of (apparently about four) long, cream-buff bristles ; hind margin of scutellum bearing a series of black bristles, set at wide intervals; pectus and pleurae clothed with black or blackish hair, meso- pleurae with a tuft of yellowish hair on upper border. Abdomen: lateral extremities of tergites of first and second segments thickly clothed with erect whitish hair ; OF GLOSSINA MORSITANS. 93 tergites of fourth, fifth, and sixth segments, or at least of fourth and sixth, with a more or less distinct patch of white scales at each lateral extremity, tergite of seventh segment with a band (less deep on each side than in middle) of glistening whitish scales at base; tergites of third to sixth segments inclusive with some fine black hairs at each lateral extremity ; clothing of venter, with exception of last segment and of some yellowish hairs near base, uniformly black. Halteres buff-coloured (knobs cream-buff at tips). Legs: front tibiae smooth (middle legs wanting in case of type), bristles on posterior femora and tibiae black. NORTHERN RuopEsia: type from Ngoa, Mpika Division, between Sept. 15th and Oct. 18th, 1913, bred from puparium of Glossina morsitans, Westw. (Ll. Lloyd: ‘presented to the British Museum by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology). So far as the author is aware, Villa Ioydi is the first Dipteron to be recorded as parasitic on any tsetse-fly, and Mr. Lloyd, in whose honour the new species is named, is heartily to be congratulated on a most interesting discovery. In conclusion, it is perhaps advisable to adda few words as to the systematic position of the species described above. Owing to the shape of the discal and third posterior cells in the wing (see fig. 1), the venation in this species is not that of a typical member of the genus Villa, Lioy. As regards the details mentioned, V. lloydz resembles certain Ethiopian species assigned by Bezzi to the subgenus Thyridanthraz, O. Sack., though the species referred to are themselves aberrant in these respects, as also in their wings being entirely or almost entirely hyaline. Villa lloyds, however, cannot be included in Thyridanthraz, since the face instead of being conical is merely bluntly convex. Although it may ultimately prove necessary to institute a new subgenus for the reception of this species, such a step must in any case be postponed until further material is received. 94 COLLECTIONS RECEIVED. The thanks of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology are due to the following gentle- men, who have kindly presented collections of insects (received between Ist October and 31st December, 1913) :— Dr. W. M. Aders :—5 Culicidae, 67 Chrysops, 14 Haematopota, 53 Tabanus, 16 Nycteribiidae, 82 other Diptera, 1 slide containing 6 Chalcididae, 7 other Hymenoptera, 7 Coleoptera, 6 Lepidoptera, and 13 spp. of Coccidae ; from Zanzibar. Agricultural Department of the Gold Coast :—132 Hymenoptera and 3 pupa Dr. Mr. Mr. Dr. Mr. Mr. Mr. iA. BE: Evans, Agricultural Instructor :—3 Rhinomyza, 2 Hippocentrum, Mr. Dr. cases, 147 Lepidoptera and 2 pupa cases, 4 Odonata, 6 Planipennia, af Rhynchota, and 42 Orthoptera ; from the Gold Coast. W. M. Allen, M.O.:—50 Culicidae; from Freetown, Sierra Leone. T. J. Anderson, Chief of Entomological Division :—88 Culicidae, 2 Pangoma, 3 Glossina, 7 other Diptera, 355 Coleoptera ; from British Hast Africa. . E. Ballard, Government Entomologist :—12 Braconidae, 2 Ichneumonidae, 1 Chalcid, 5 Cassididae, and 8 Lepidoptera ; from Zomba, Nyasaland. . G. E. Bodkin, Government Biologist :—4 Tabanus, 11 other Diptera, 48 Hymenoptera, 21 Coleoptera, 11 Lepidoptera, 1 sp. of Coccid, 28 other Rhynchota, 2 Orthoptera and 19 Ticks; from British Guiana. J. R. Bovell, Superintendent of Agriculture :—2 Stomozys, 6 other Diptera, - 23 Hymenoptera, 22 Coleoptera, 4 Rhynchota, 2 Orthoptera; from Barbados. G. R. H. Chell, M.O. :—66 Culicidae, 5 Pangonia, 2 Dratommeura, 3 Haematopota, 17 Tabanus, 27 Glossina, 1 Hippoboscid ; from Moyale, British East Africa. - H. Dayrell, Dist. Commissioner :—23 Chrysops, 12 Tabanus, 19 Glossina, 2 other Diptera ; from Ahoada, 8. Nigeria. C. M. Dobbs, District Commissioner :—14 Haematopota, 50 other Tipeenat 30 Hymenoptera, 21 Coleoptera, 1 Lepidopteron, 1 dragon fly, 5 Rhyn- chota ; from Lumbwa District, British East Africa. R. A. F. Eminson :—4 Tabanus ; from Mwengwa, N.W. Rhodesia. 1 Chrysops, 8 Tabanus, 46 Glossina, 1 Hippobosca, 136 other Diptera, 17 Hymenoptera, 1,378 Coleoptera and 1 pupa, 28 Lepidoptera and 9 pupae, 4 Odonata, 10 Planipennia, 606 Rhynchota and 8 pupae, 9 Orthoptera, 22 Ticks and 3 Spiders; from the Gold Coast. . H. R. M. Ferguson, M.O. :—4 Glossina, 1 Asilid, 11 Ticks; from Okigwe, S. Nigeria. C. Fuller, Assistant Chief of Division of Entomology :—Nematodes attacking lawn grass; from Pretoria, South Africa. Mercier Gamble :—2 Glossina in spirit, 2 tubes of Fleas, and 772 Ticks ; from Portuguese Congo. . Lewis Gough, Government Entomologist :—10 Hymenoptera and 3 Moths; from Cairo. Mr Dr. Mr. COLLECTIONS RECEIVED. 95 . C. C. Gowdey, Government Entomologist :—10 Diptera, 9 Oestrid larvae, 735 Hymenoptera, 601 Coleoptera, 5 Lepidoptera, 13 Cimicidae, 5 spp. of Coccidae, 431 other Rhynchota, 649 Orthoptera, 8 Mallophaga, 62 Ticks, | Spider and a tube containing Mites; from Entebbe, Uganda. EF. Hamilton, M.O. :—72 Culicidae, 20 Glossina, 1 other Dipteron, 3 Hymenoptera, 3 Coleoptera and | larva, 1 Lepidopteron, 1 Myrmeleonid, 1 Orthopteron, 3 Spiders and 2 Scorpions; from Central Province, Gold Coast. . E. Hopkinson, D.S.0.:—12 Culicidae, 9 Chrysops, 138 Tabanus, 41 Glossina ; from Gambia. EK. Hutchins, Chief Veterinary Officer :—21 Glossina, 5 Anoplura, and 43 Ticks; from Uganda. Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies :—5 Stomoxys, 140 Dr. Mr. Dr. Dr. Mr. other Diptera, 6 Coleoptera, 5 Lepidoptera, 1 larva and 4 pupae, 129 Fleas, 318 Ticks, and 25 tubes containing intestinal worms ; from West Indies. A. ¥. Kennedy, M.O. :—1 Culicid, 3 Tabanus, 6 Glossina and 1 Lynchia ; from Gambia. H. H. King, Government Entomologist :—119 Diptera, 1 larva and 9 Coleoptera ; from Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. W. A. Lamborn, Government Entomologist :—6 Hippocentrum, 1 Haematopota, 4 Glossina, 334 other Diptera, and 3 pupa cases, a large number of Parasitic Hymenoptera and cocoons, 92 other Hymenoptera, 77 Coleoptera and 1 pupa, 91 Lepidoptera and 10 early stages, 1 Planipennia, 9 spp. of Coccidae, 17 other Rhynchota, 13 Orthoptera, and 1 Centipede ; from S. Nigeria. . LI. Lloyd :—2 Glossina morsitans and 4 puparia and 1 Bombyliid-fly bred from pupa of G. morsitans ; from Lagos, 8S. Nigeria. . C. P. Lounsbury, Chief of Division of Entomology :—56 Coleoptera ; from Pretoria, South Africa. Harold Macfarlane, Government Bacteriologist :—3,182 Stegomyia mosquitoes ; from Hong Kong. S. A. Neave: 1 Culicid, 8 Chrysops, 23 Pangonia, 3 Haematopota, 43 Tabanus, 3 Glossina, 60 Stomoxys, 21 Hippoboscidae, 5 cases of Asilids and prey, 28 Dipterous parasites on Lepidopterous pupae, 349 other Diptera, a number of Hymenopterous parasites on Lepidopterous larvae and pupae, 833 other Hymenoptera, 793 Coleoptera, 31 bred Lepidoptera and early stages 1,015 Moths, 19 Isoptera, 279 Rhynchota, 29 Orthoptera, 23 Siphonaptera, 2 Anoplura, 354 Ticks, 2 Chelifers, and 57 Mites ; from Nyasaland. | .J.H.S. Old, M.O. :—72 Culicidae, 7 Tabanus, 99 other Diptera, 7 Dipterous larvae, 111 Hymenoptera, 193 Coleoptera, 6 larvae, a number of Lepidop- terous larvae, 2 pupae, 1 Cocoon, 1 Termite, 483 Rhynchota, 27 Orthop- tera, 118 Ticks, a large number of mites, a tube contaiming intestinal worms, 1 Spider, 6 Centipedes, 2 Milipedes, 1 Scorpion, 2 Snakes, and 1 Frog; from Port Herald, Nyasaland. Mons. T. Paczoski :—49 Hyponomeuta malinellus ; from Cherson, Russia. 96 COLLECTIONS RECEIVED. Dr. J. Pollard, M.O. :—13 Culicidae, 1 Cimicid ; from Yola, N. Nigeria. Hon. N. C. Rothschild :—3 Dermacentor circumguttatus and 2 Amblyomma Mr. Mr. peters. ; from Uganda. A. Rutherford, Government Entomologist :—1 Haematopota, 1 Tabanus, 14 other Diptera, 20 slides of Chalcididae, 8 other Hymenoptera, 4 tubes containing a large number of beetles and 32 other Coleoptera, 8 Lepidoptera, 1 slide of Psocidae, 8 slides of Thrips and 4 Rhynchota ; from Peradenyia, Ceylon. W. H. Patterson, Government Entomologist :—70 Culicidae, 24 Hippocen- trum, 5 Haematopota, 1 Tabanus, 33 Glossina, 22 nests of Hymenoptera, 2 Hippobosca, 1,007 other Diptera, 1,088 Hymenoptera, 12 pupa cases of Parasitic Hymenoptera, 1,570 Coleoptera, 968 Lepidoptera, 1 Dragonfly, 4 Ephemeridae, 32 Planipennia, 3 spp. of Coccidae, 824 other Rhynchota, 80 Orthoptera, 6 Cocoons and 2 Spiders ; from Aburi, Gold Coast. Capt. W. S. Patton, I.M.S. :—42 Chrysops, 101 Tabanus, 52 Philaematomyia ; Dr. from Guindy, Madras. M. Saunders, M.O.:—5 Dorcalaemus, 4 H acthaneban, 116 Tabanus, 4 Stomoxys, 2 “other Diptera; from Chiromo, Nyasaland. Dr. E. 8. Sieger, M.O. :—2 Tabanus, 6 Haemaphysalis ; from Oweri, 8. Nigeria. Dr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. A. T. Stanton :—49 Culicidae, 3 Chironomidae, 5 Haematopota, 20 Tabanus, 4 Stomocxys, 11 other Diptera, and 1 Fulgorid ; from Kuala Lumpur. Thos. Thornton :—1 Haematopota, 1 Tachmid, 1 Braconid, 12 Chalcididae, 4 Coccinellidae, 3 Moths, 1 Cicada ; from Aguji, Ilorin, N. Nigeria. F. W. Urich :—1 Dermatobia hominis, 2 Limacodid Moths and 1 larva ; from Trinidad. Vargas Vergora, Director of Agriculture :—5 Tomaspis sp. n; from Bogota, Colombia. . A. H. Wilson, M.O. :—74 Culicidae, 17 Chrysops, 18 Tabanus, 17 Glossina, 1 Stomoxys ; from Degema, 8. Nigeria. .J. Y. Wood, M.O. :—239 Culicidae, 155 larvae, and 90 pupae, 1 Rhinomyza, 1 Chrysops, 20 Hippocentrum, 129 Haematopota, 13 Labanus, 275 Glossina, 2 other Diptera ; from Sierra Leone. R. C. Wood :—2 Chrysops, 1 Haematopota, 27 Tabanus, 1 Simulvum, 27 other Diptera, 4 Odonata with parasites; from N. Rhodesia. R. C. Wroughton :—236 Diptera; from Natal, 8. Africa. Yellow Fever (West Africa) Commission :—9 Stegomyia fasciata and_ ig Culiciomyia nebulosa ; from Lagos, 8. Nigeria. VOL. V. Part 2.—pp. 97—196. SEPTEMBER, 1914. BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH ISSUED BY THE IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. EDITOR: THE DIRECTOR. LONDON: SOLD BY DULAU & Co., Ltd., 37, SOHO SQUARE, W. Price 4s. net. All Rights Reserved. oi TSETSE FLY AND BIG GAME IN SOUTHERN RHODESIA. By Rurrerr W. Jaox, F.ES., Government Entomologist, Southern Rhodesia. (Mars I and If). In Southern Rhodesia conditions are better than in most other parts of Africa for gathering information concerning the distribution of tsetse in the past, and perhaps even in the present. This is due to a combination of two factors, namely, that only one species of tsetse, Glossina morsitans, is found within our borders, and that the territory, in comparison with the Central African States, contains and has contained a relatively large European population. The first factor eliminates the possibility of confusion of species in connexion with the evidence forthcoming, at least in the case of those able to distinguish tsetse from other species of blood- sucking flies, whilst the second provides a more reliable source of information than the native. . In the course of the past five years, native commissioners, officers of the police, and other residents especially familiar with certain districts of the territory, have been laid under contribution for information concerning the former limits of the fly-infested areas, and in this way many valuable facts have come to light. These combined with what we have learned from the early hunters and explorers, and the knowledge gained of the present limits of the fly, obtained from all available sources and from personal observation, form a history, incomplete indeed, but still of some interest, which may be of value as a contribution to the sum of knowledge concerning this insect. The most important bearing of these facts appears to be on the question of the necessity or otherwise of big game to the well-being of the fly, and the following article aims at an examination of this question in the light of the information at our disposal in this part of the insect’s range. It may be stated at once that the case built up is considered strongly in favour of a vital association between the peevalen of big game and the continuance and increase of the fly. First of all, some remarks are necessary concerning the most direct method of collecting evidence as to the association between tsetse and big game, namely, observations on the prevalence or otherwise of big game in areas infested with fly. During the last four and a-half years the writer has visited the great majority of the fly-belts in the territory, and the main belts repeatedly, and, broadly expressed, the results of observations on game and fly are to the effect that in most cases game is more or less abundant all the year round im fly-infested country, and that in no instance is the larger animal life altogether absent, even during a portion of the year. The most noteworthy locality where fly occurs in abundance and big game is scarce towards the end of the dry season is below the escarpment in the Lomagundi district, in the triangle formed by the Hanyani and the Ambi Rivers with the Rukowakuona Mountains (the escparment). The Dande and Ambi rivers and their tributary streams contain no surface water in October and November, the few natives living on the Dande obtaining water at this period by digging holes in the bed of the river. The little Gorai River is a tributary of the Dande and a well-known haunt of tsetse. (C53) Wt.P8/63. 6. 1000. 9.14. B.&F.Ltd.G@11/1 A 98 RUPERT W. JACK—TSETSE FLY The point where the writer carried out certain investigations on this watercourse is fifteen miles away from the Hanyani, the nearest open water at the end of the dry season. The grass is burnt off annually by the natives, and the game naturally forsakes country which contains neither grass nor water. Along the banks of the Gorai, nevertheless, fly is abundant in October and November, whilst on the west bank of the Hanyani, where the game is normally abundant at this time of year, fly is scarce. This appears at first sight a strong argument for the disassociation of tsetse and big game, but closer investigation of the situation reveals the presence of. other factors. In the first place, the situation as seen in October and November is only tempo- rary, being due to the drying up of the rivers and the burning of the grass. In the second place, although at the time of the visit the larger antelopes had all deserted this part of the country, there were left behind two species of animals undoubtedly capable of yielding sustenance to tsetse, namely warthog and duiker, of which the former appears to the writer to be the more important, from the fact that shot specimens are frequently found abundantly attended by the fly, and that trypano- somes have been found in warthog blood (Bevan, inter alios). These animals either have the power of burrowing down to water where other animals would have to thirst, or are constitutionally to a large extent independent of drinking, because they are, like the duiker, met with in very dry tracts of country where none of the larger antelopes are to be found. Along the Gorai River, in November 1911, the writer saw several herds of warthog, and one herd was lying on the very river bank in the shade where the tsetse congregate, and was probably affording a meal to numerous tsetse at the time. There was also evidence of much rooting in the vicinity of the © river where the ground is soft and succulent roots are more abundant than in the neighbouring bush. In the third place, the fact of the tsetse not being found associated with the game at the Hanyani river is probably accounted for by the nature of the country. Along the Hanyani where the game was congregated the banks of the river are very thickly wooded and there is much very dense undergrowth, whilst this condition gives way to country in which shade is very deficient. Now shade is essential to tsetse, but G. morsitans is not, in the writer’s experience, found in abundance in this territory in any bush so tangled as to be difficult of penetration. In addition to this, the neighbouring forest is unusually open, not affording much shade even in the wet season when tsetse spreads through the bush instead of remain- ing confined to the shady banks of watercourses and edges of vleis. The Gorai River affords excellent winter shade, and the surrounding bush is sufficiently shady during the rains, so that it is in all respects suitable for tsetse, and it is not a matter for wonder that the fly has increased and made its home in this part, whilst it has failed to do so to the same extent on that part of the Hanyani river to which reference has been made. In April 1911, the writer again visited the neighbourhood of the Gorai River and found that game, including rhinoceros, zebra, sable, kudu, eland, impala, - etc., was moderately abundant in the haunts of the tsetse, which was at that time to be met with throughout the bush. The foregoing argument has been set out in some detail in an endeavour to demon- state that opinions formed in passing through a certain locality at one season of the year are liable to serious error, and that too much weight should not therefore AND BIG GAME IN S. RHODESIA. 99 be attached to such observations. Whilst aware that considerable evidence has been _ brought forward to show that in other parts of Africa tsetse may occur in abundance ‘where no big game is found at any season, the writer is forced to deal only with Southern Rhodesia, where no such instances have come under observation. Turning now to broader considerations, the evidence in favour of the necessity of big game to the tsetse in Southern Rhodesia and adjacent territory may be summed up under four heads :— (1) Tsetse retired before the advance of civilisation in the Transvaal, the only known modification of conditions being the destruction of the game. (2) Tsetse disappeared from large tracts of country immediately after the - rinderpest epizootic in 1896. (3) Tsetse has increased and spread since the rinderpest only in those parts of Southern Rhodesia where big game has increased. (4) Tsetse has greatly decreased of late years in the Hartley district in those parts where the big game has been most effectively destroyed or driven away. Concerning (1) the writer must confess to the opinion that sufficient weight has hardly been attached to the phenomenon of the retirement of the tsetse before the advance of the white man, for in conjunction with subsequent events in this territory and elsewhere, this is one of the most weighty arguments for the vital association of the fly with big game. The advance of settlement was preceded by the wholesale destruction and driving away of the larger fauna of the forest, and for many years this was the sole modification of natural conditions due to the advent of the European. The only attempt at a suggestion of other changes that might conceivably have had an adverse effect on the tsetse appears to be that settlement implies a certain amount of clearing of the forest, but it is quite obvious that settlement did not penetrate into fly-infested country, but pushed the pest back before it; that is to say, that farms were not worked “in the fly,” for very natural reasons, and that therefore, as a general rule, no clearing of any extent occurred in the forest until the fly had practically disappeared from it. Asa matter of fact but little clearing usually occurs on pioneer farms in South Africa for many years after occupation, unless the farmer happens to be a man of considerable substance and enterprise, bent on developing his farm agriculturally, attributes hardly characteristic of the voor-trekkers in the Transvaal, who were primarily stock-owners. Where could farmers find a market for great quantities of agricultural produce in those remote undeveloped parts ? To pass on to (2), the total disappearance of the fly from some parts of Africa and its great reduction in others after destruction of the bulk of the game by rinderpest is, of course, a very strong argument for the dependence of the fly on game, but the fact is so notorious that its force in connexion with the subject of this paper calls for no particular comment. In Southern Rhodesia the pest has never reappeared in certain localities. There is no tsetse now on the Limpopo and Sabi Rivers within the Rhodesian borders; there is none in the Bulalima-Mangwe and Bubi districts, near Selukwe in the Gwelo district, along the Zambesi near the Victoria Falls, or in the Wankies district, in all of which it used to occur in varying abundance according to the reports of early hunters and traders. (The areas coloured blue in Map I have been mainly drawn from the writings quoted in Austen’s “ Monograph of the Tsetse Flies,” with additions obtained from other sources, or copied from (53) A2 . 100 RUPERT W. JACK:—TSETSE FLY -Austen’s map, and shew roughly the parts from which the tsetse disappeared altogether after 1896).* In other areas a nucleus of the pest was left, but large tracts _of country were free which are infested at the present time. On the authority of Lieut. R. W..Thornton: of the B.S.A. Police, who has probably a better personal ‘knowledge of the Lomagundi district than anyone else in the Territory, fly was _hardly taken into consideration there until the year 1902, horses being taken freely all over the district. According to Mr. Herrington of Sipolilo, and formerly of the -B.8.A. Police, and certain cattlemen questioned personally, fly was first encountered on the cattle route south of the Zambesi in 1902. The path by which the cattle are brought down crosses the Zambesi at Feira and the Hanyani river about six miles “below the escarpment. It was between that river and the escarpment that the fly ‘appeared. According to native testimony, however, tsetse existed earlier than this to the east, about the Gorai River already mentioned, but very definite information is lacking. After 1902 the spread of the pest was rapid, and by 1905 at least it extended as far north as the junction of the Ambi River with the Hanyani. Mr. Herrington, who, on account of possessing a store near the cattle route, has always received regular information from the cattlemen, states that the fly first appeared between the Hanyani and Angwa Rivers in 1907. It is now found on the Angwa, but not in very great numbers. ; ) | A great belt also exists to the west of the Angwa, between the escarpment and the Zambesi, and practically joins up with the belt just mentioned. It seems probable however, that it has spread from a nucleus within itself since the rinderpest, but Kuropean testimony on this point is not available. | The situation in the Lomagundi district has some special features of its own. The available information concerning this district before 1900 is more meagre than in regard to any other. There appears to. be no record of tsetse at that time in the neighbourhood of Tchetchenini Hill, but Mr. Herrington states that it was fairly numerous there in 1903. It is probable, therefore, that a nucleus of fly remained in this part after the rinderpest.t Whether fly was present below the escarpment to the north-west of the district at that time can only be conjectured. There is no doubt, however, that that belt has extended very greatly of recent years. The present *[As it might be inferred from this statement that fly was present in all the areas coloured blue in Map I up till the rinderpest, it is well to explain that this was by no means the case. As regards the large blue area to the north of the Limpopo, the writer traversed the eastern quarter of this in 1893, being camped for ten days on the north bank of the Limpopo, and there was certainly no fly then anywhere near the Old Hunters’ — Road, along which waggons were frequently passing. Mr. F. C. Selous, who has examined Mr. Jack’s map, has expressed his conviction that there was no fly in any part of this area in 1896; thoughit existed to the east of the Nuanetsi River and at the junction of the Shashi and Shashani Rivers—areas not indicated on the map. Similarly, he can assert that the fly-belt shown to the west of the Victoria Falls had disappeared by 1888, and is of opinion that much of the fly to the east of the Falis had also gone by that date. He has never known fly to occur in the Ramakwabane area shown in the map since he first went there in 1872. There are various well authenticated cases of the disappearance of fly before.any wholesale destruction of game, but Mr. Jack admittedly — does not attempt to deal with that aspect of the question. (Cf. Stevenson Hamilton, Bull. Ent. Res. 11, 1911, pp. 113-116).—Ed.] ; t Since writing these notes the writer has received indirect native testimony to the effect that tsetse never died out altogether in the neighbourhood of Tchetchenimi Hill after the rinderpest. AND BIG GAME IN S. RHODESIA. 101 delimitation of the area there is due to Dr. Stohr, of the Northern Rhodesian service, who visited that part early last year (1913). The strangest feature of the situation, however, is presented by the country south of the escarpment and to the west of the Angwa river. Between 1905 and 1910 odd specimens of fly were encountered at a number of isolated spots in this area. Such spots are coloured yellow in Map I. There is no doubt about the reliability of these reports; they are mostly due to Thornton, who is perfectly familiar with tsetse. A few are due to native messengers who brought specimens to the Native Commissioner’s camp. Subsequent visitors have almost always failed to find fly at any of these spots ; the Native Commissioner for Lomagundi and Dr. Stohr both failed at different times to find or hear of any fly about the Piriwiri, Susenje and other rivers to the west and south-west of Sinoia ; Mr. C. W. Howard and the writer failed to find any on the Ingonya river in 1909. Dr. Stohr failed to find any on the Naodza and other rivers further north early last. year; he refers to the matter in his report as follows :—“ Whatever fly there may be in the Urungwe sub-district, outside of the Zambesi Valley, must certainly be very scarce and scattered. I found none and could hear of none from natives.” This part of the country has been shot over to a considerable extent by hunters and prospectors, but the game has certainly not been reduced to anything like the same extent as it has in the Suri-suri belt in the Hartley district (to be dealt with shortly). There appears to have been no fixed belt of any extent in this part since the rinderpest. It should be mentioned that, according to Mr. Herrington, a party of police reported a belt seven miles wide on the path from Sinoia to Urungwe in July 1898, but this has never been confirmed, and according to Thornton’s statement the police apparently had not accepted the report as reliable. The belt is certainly not in existence at the present day. No explanation of the phenomenon can be attempted. It would seem that the fly in this part survived the rinderpest in very small numbers in scattered localities, failed to increase to any extent, but persisted until recent years, although on the verge of extermination. Concerning the factors controlling the situation we are altogether ignorant. Our information in regard to the belts in the Sebungwe district up to 1910 is due almost entirely to Mr. Val. Gielgud, formerly Native Commissioner for the district. Mr. Gielgud states that west of the Sengwa River in the years following 1896 the fly was only to be found in the neighbourhood of Manzituba (see Map Il). The country lying between the Sengwa and Umniati (Sanyati) Rivers was formerly known as the Mafungabusi district, but has now been merged into the Sebungwe district. Con- cerning this portion the available information is somewhat indefinite as regards boundaries, but all reports agree that no fly existed to the Sengwa side, and that a belt always existed along the Umniati river, which has, however, only extended to its present limits within recent years. The writer has personally noted a southward extension of about seven miles since November 1910, and according to the testimony of white hunters and natives there has been a considerable progression to the north and west. Owing to the native disturbances and other troubles which affected Southern Rhodesia in 1896-7 and the undeveloped state of the country, exact information concerning the distribution of tsetse between that time and the year 1900 cannot be expected. The areas coloured red in Map I give a general idea of the country infested 102 RUPERT W. JACK—TSETSE FLY at the time, and are probably as approximately correct as they can be made at this late date. By comparing the red areas with those coloured green, which represent the range of the fly at the present time, the extent to which the pest has spread since the rinderpest can be realised. Our information concerning the spread of tsetse in the Sebungwe district is more detailed than it is in regard to other parts. In 1907, Mr. Gielgud submitted a map showing how the fly-belts had extended up to that time, and the writer has since been able to supplement these observations. In this way the material for Map II has been collected. This map shows the limits of the fly after 1896 (red), in 1904 (blue), in 1907 (brown), in 1910 (yellow), and at the present day (green). In regard to the limits for 1910, it should be noted that the line drawn from the southernmost point to the junction of the Busi River with the Sengwa is to some extent hypothetical. Tsetse -was first taken on the Sengwa in that year at the junction with the above-mentioned river, and the writer fixed the southern boundary in May. The southward movement of the fly had been very rapid, and had driven away the only native chief possessing cattle in the district. This was Pashu, whose old kraal is shown on the Mlendi river on themap. This native subsequently moved his cattle back to his old kraal and lost very heavily from trypanosomiasis, whilst some Government mules stationed at a kraal within three miles of the same spot also died about the same time. The present day boundaries have been fixed with some degree of accuracy, but waterless stretches of country have had to be crossed by hypothetical lines. The isolated belt on the lower Sengwa was discovered last year (1913). It is situated in rough uninhabited country, and may have been overlooked for some years. The fly is very thick at one spot close to the Sengwa in this belt. The Sebungwe area is of special interest because, apart from the three officers of the Native Department until last year stationed at Kariyangwe, there have been no white men living in the district to the west of the Sengwa river, the natives are practically unarmed, and the processes of nature have not been interfered with by human agency. Big game has increased greatly and is now very abundant in certain parts. Turning now to the Hartley district we are confronted with an exactly opposite situation. Here human agency has been at work for years and natural conditions have been modified. The heart of the fly-belt on the railway line, which is the one to which it is desired to call particular attention, is about the head-waters of the tribu- taries of the Suri-suri river. It is, in fact, usually known as the Suri-suri belt. There is, unfortunately, but little to be learnt from a comparison between the extent of the belt after 1896 and its extent to-day, because it is nearly surrounded by mines, and although the heart of the belt was, up to 1912, still virgin forest, the bush had been cut down to supply fuel and timber to a considerable extent around it, and conclusions, therefore, cannot be drawn from the fact that the fly has not spread widely in the district. It may, perhaps, be worth noting that, in spite of the facts mentioned above, there have always been channels some miles in breadth along which the pest — might have spread without encountering any modification of its native habitat beyond the scarcity of game. On the whole, however, it seems best to leave this side of the © matter out of the question. It should, moreover, be noted that owing to the large number of cattle used for transport on the mines and farms, our information concerning the range of the pest in these parts is exceedingly good, and that the portion of the AND BIG GAME IN S. RHODESIA. 103: district coloured green in Map I includes all localities where cases of trypanosomiasis have occurred during the past five years, whilst in other parts of the territory only areas in which tsetse have been actually seen have been marked. One might live for | months within certain parts of this green area and never see a tsetse-fly, in fact the only place where specimens can be expected is in the heart of the belt, which is coloured red. In spite of farming and mining operations, however, there was, until early last year (1913), an area about 150 square miles in extent in which the only change from natural conditions due to human agency had been the destruction and driving away of the game. During the past few months a light railway has been run down to the heart of the belt to supply timber for certain mines near Gatooma, and, according to information received, the destruction of the forest has been very considerable. Events subsequent to 1913, therefore, have no bearing on the question of fly and game. An area embracing the fly-belts in the Hartley district was first thrown open to free shooting for three months in the year 1901, but this period was not extended. Later, in 1905, the Game Laws were again suspended in respect to this part of the country, zebra, elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus and ostrich being excluded, however, from the scope of the notice. The open area was maintained until 1908, but in that year was closed again, only to be reopened in 1909 on account of heavy losses amongst cattle. Since that time the Game Laws have remained suspended with respect to the fly-infested portion of the district. The basin of the Suri-suri River, being easy of access, was shot over to a great extent by residents in the district, as well as by professional hunters, and between 1905 and 1908 a considerable reduction of the game took place. But even in 1909 there were still small herds of eland, sable, zebra and other buck to be met with, as the writer is able to testify. The destruction has continued since then, and at the present time the basin of the river, once one of the more prolific hunting grounds in the territory, is almost destitute of the larger fauna, although until last year a few still lingered, and small herds were liable to pass through at certain seasons. A few warthog and small buck were usually to befound. The writer visited this part first in August 1909, and there was considerably more evidence of big game at that time than in the years following. The last instance of tsetse having been met with in considerable numbers in the Suri-suri belt occurred in 1908, when Dr. Alex. Mackenzie, of Hartley, found the pest sufficiently thick to constitute a serious personal nuisance, and his statement is borne out by Mr. L. E. W. Bevan, Veterinary Bacteriologist, who was with him at the time. Other testimony from both European and native sources agrees on the point that the fly was more numerous previous to 1909 than afterwards. In 1910, a Cape boy who drove the writer to the point where the little-used road from Hartley to the Golden Valley Mine crosses the Suri-suri River near its head-waters volunteered the statement that a few years previously the mules would have been attacked by a swarm of tsetse at this point. The very considerable losses of cattle from trypanosomiasis at the end of 1908 and the beginning of 1909 were, as stated above, largely the cause of the area being again thrown open to free shooting in March of the latter year. _ The writer paid almost monthly visits to the Suri-suri belt after August 1909, and throughout 1910, and never on any occasion met with the pest in numbers. The greatest number seen in one day was in October 1909, when the total was nine. Usually 104 RUPERT W. JACK—TSETSE FLY two or three were encountered, and occasionally none at all. The belt has been kept under observation since, and there has been no sign of increase. Losses from trypano- somiasis in cattle have decreased in this part of the district; in fact, until a con- tractor, presumably emboldened by the general immunity, actually kept and worked his spans in the very heart of the fly-belt, they had nearly ceased, and cattle are now kept and worked where it would have been fatal to have done so formerly. Tsetse has not, however, altogether disappeared. The last specimens submitted to the Department of Agriculture were taken by a farmer in August 1912, and Dr. Mackenzie, of Hartley, reported having encountered a small patch on the Hartley-Golden Valley road the following November. The cases of trypanosomiasis amongst the cattle working in the heart of the old fly-belt indicate that a few tsetse are still to be met with. The presence of cattle in the former haunts of the game, where fly still persists in very small numbers, might conceivably have even caused a small increase of the pest since last year, though the clearing of the bush would eventually counteract any tendency of this nature. The lingering of the fly does not, of course, affect the broad facts of the situation, seeing that the game had not been altogether destroyed. The important fact is that in this district alone in Southern Rhodesia has tsetse decidedly decreased of late years, and here the game has been greatly reduced by artificial means. In other districts where permanent fly-belts occur the game has become more abundant and the fly has increased and extended its range greatly since 1896. It is interesting also to note that the greatest and most rapid extension has occurred in those parts of the territory where game is most abundant, as in the Sebungwe district and certain parts of the Zambesi Valley. We have, therefore, south of the Zambesi River a very logical chain of evidence, so far as it goes, suggesting the necessity of big game to the tsetse-fly, namely, the retirement of the fly before civilisation under circumstances difficult to dissociate — from the effect of game destruction, the general disappearance or great reduction of the fly coincident with the general reduction of the game by rinderpest, the increase and spread of the fly again corresponding with the increase of the game, and, finally, the reduction again of the fly locally coincident with the sauna of the game by human agency in that particular spot. The writer is well aware that something more than these facts will be required before the theory of the vital connexion of the two forms of life is accepted, especially as some contradictory evidence has been brought forward elsewhere. On account of the nature of the problem, however, final proof could only be constituted of an accumulation of circumstantial evidence pointing in the same direction, and the Hartley experiment in this territory appears to be the first definite effort to obtain direct evidence on the point. The experiment was not carried out with the scientific detail that would undoubtedly have rendered it more valuable, but nevertheless the. result is very significant in conjunction with events elsewhere. At the present time it may be said that nearly all the known facts in South Africa either strongly support — the positive theory or are, at any rate, not inconsistent with it. Years before the rinderpest epizootic it was the general opinion amongst hunters (vide quotations in Austen’s “ Monograph of the Tsetse Flies”) that “ the fly would disappear with the. game.” The apparent effect of the rinderpest was confirmatory to an amazing degree, AND BIG GAME IN S. RHODESIA. 105 ! and subsequent events have now lent their support. Even to suggest any other possible explanation of the various phenomena is a matter of difficulty and necessitates an appeal to the possibilities of coincidence that few would care to place upon paper. Apart from the contradictory reports of different observers, the great obstacle to the acceptance of the theory of the necessity of big game to the tsetse-fly is the fact that many other possible sources of blood than the ungulate mammals exist in the African forests. By a closer examination of the matter, however, it seems probable that the vast bulk of these are not fitted to be relied upon in this respect. Few will contend that there is any possibility of invertebrate animals, such as caterpillars, being a permanent source of nourishment to the tsetse. Amongst the vertebrata — it also appears from the researches of Kleine, Roubaud and others, that an exclusive diet of reptilian or amphibian blood, or even a mixed diet of such blood and that of mammals, is deleterious to the species.* Asa matter of fact in the case of G. morsitans such a supply is rarely available, as the fly is not often found on the banks of the larger rivers where crocodiles abound, and the belts in the dry season are frequently far removed from water of any sort, in which case water-loving reptiles, such as Varanus and freshwater Chelonia, as well as most amphibians, are not available. The smaller hzards, including chameleons, are more likely to make a meal of tsetse than vice versa, whilst the terrestial tortoises are too scarce to be of any account. Amongst the mammals, certain orders, namely the Insectivora, Chiroptera and Edentata, are obviously of no service on account of their nocturnal habits and the seclusion of their diurnal retreats. Certain rodents, such as hares, may serve the fly for a meal on occasions, but the order can be of but little importance on account of the small size and activity of the majority of its members and the fact that they are largely nocturnal in habit. Of the larger species the porcupine (Hystrix) is entirely nocturnal, but certain squirrels attain a size not greatly inferior to that of a rabbit and are ofdiurnal habit. The larger forms of the latter family are, however, rarely seen in country suited to the tsetse. No doubt the larger Carnivora are attacked by tsetse when they enter its haunts, but their numbers are relatively so small that they are practically negligible. Lions and, to a lesser extent, hyaenas, are also depen- dent on the larger ungulates for food, and desert country from which these have been driven. The hunting dog (Lycaon) is always migratory, and leopards and jackals, in addition to their scarcity, lie up during the day. The smaller Carnivora—FELIDag, VIVERRIDAE, MusTELIDAE—are also practically nocturnal, and from their alert and active habits are unlikely to submit to be fed upon. Anyone may note the intolerance of the domestic cat to the attentions of Stomozxys in this connexion, 1t would seem, therefore, that the whole class of Mammalia, with the exception of ungulates and certain primates, are little fitted to be of service to tsetse even in the aggregate. The smaller antelopes and Quadrumana must be considered later. In connexion with birds, we are faced with the fact that tsetse certainly shows no dislike to avian blood, as fowls have been freely used to feed the flies (both palpalis and morsitans) in confinement, and evidence has been brought forward to show that species of Glossina at least occasionally secure a meal from certain birds in nature. On the other hand, * (The researches referred to concerned G. palpalis and not G. morsitans ; moreover, the later observations of Duke, Carpenter and Fiske indicate that the conclusions cited are probably erroneous, for they have found reptiles to be a highly favoured source of food for G. palpalis under natural conditions.—EpD. ] 106 RUPERT W. JACK—TSETSE FLY in the case of palpalis, Koch has shown that, in the presence of other sources of blood, birds are not laid under contribution to any great extent, and his observations have been confirmed by Bruce. Similar observations do not seem to have been made with morsitans, but it should be noted that this species has little opportunity of feeding upon the quiescent water-loving birds suggested as the source of the avian blood found in palpalis. Moreover, the tsetse’s habit of awaiting its prey not far from the ground renders it probable that the vast majority of birds come comparatively rarely within the ken of the fly.* Small birds, also, in addition to their restlesness, activity and tendency to catch insects, probably have but little power of attracting tsetse, for there is some evidence to show that the size of an animal and the amount of disturbance created in moving about have a direct influence on the number of tsetse attracted, at least in the case of morsitans. It would in fact seem that the distance a tsetse is led by scent alone is a comparatively short one. The writer has frequently had the experience that when sitting quietly in a fly-belt few tsetse would be mm attendance, but that a movement of only a few yards brought a considerable accession of numbers, the newcomers showing a desire to bite that proved they were hungry. On the other hand, movement through infested forest invariably attracts a number of the flies, even when it is as soundless as progress along a path on a bicycle. The flies in such circumstances do not always evince a desire to feed, but on the other hand they quite commonly do so. From this it appears that the range of sight is greater than that of scent, and that large moving bodies constitute a particular attraction. If this is the main method by which flies are attracted, the range of attraction of an animal should, within certain limits, vary in direct ratio with its size, and one can understand that, apart from all other considerations, small mammals, small birds and small reptiles could on this account alone form only a casual source of sustenance. There are, however, certain birds which live almost entirely on the ground, are of sufficient size to attract tsetse from some distance by vision, and are often found in great abundance in the particular haunts of the fly. These comprise several species known as game birds, and include Numida, Pternistes, Francolinus and others. The fact of tsetse feeding on fowls in captivity would seem to show that attempts would be made to feed on other gallinaceous birds in a state of nature, at least when pressed by hunger. The writer has, nevertheless, found on entering a limited belt where enormous numbers of game birds were congregated, the flies were as eager for mammalian blood as elsewhere, and the collapsed state of the abdomen showed that they had not fed to the full for days. At this spot the birds rose from the grass at almost every step, and if the flies were in the habit of finding the birds and feeding on them there was certainly not the least difficulty in every fly doing so, nor any apparent reason for the presence of swarms of desperately hungry individuals. There is therefore some ground for belief that for some constitutional cause, such as their conformation, their armature of feathers, their activity, their habit of pecking at insects, or such causes combined, birds as a class do not form a very suitable source of sustenance to tsetse.t That some such disability exists in respect to most other * [In a series of captured G. morsitans examined by Lloyd in Northern Rhodesia, he found that of the specimens in which the blood content could be identified 15 per cent. contained non-mammalian blood.—Ep.] + On admittedly somewhat slender grounds Mr. Lloyd, of the Luangwa Sleeping Sickness Commission, is inclined to the belief that morsitans does not thrive on avian blood in the same way as it does on mammalian.—Bull. Ent. Research, iii, part 3. AND BIG GAME IN S. RHODESIA. 107 bloodsucking flies would seem to be beyond question, when we consider how little attention Stomoxys, Haematopota, Tabanus, etc., pay to fowls, for instance, even in the absence of larger animals. The only bloodsucking flies that have made a thorough success of feeding on birds appear to be some members of the HiproposciDak, which have developed a parasitic habit and become specially adapted to moving about amongst feathers. The flat form of Olfersia is obviously of advantage to it in this respect, and we can see how ill-adapted the tsetse is in comparison. With regard to the smaller antelopes and Quadrumana there is no doubt at all that the fly feeds upon these animals whenever appetite and opportunity coincide, or that a regular supply of the blood of these species would serve the fly indefinitely. The small buck, such as Cervicapra and Cephalophus, however, do not run in herds and are very scattered, and on this account are not fitted to afford a regular meal to large quantities of tsetse. It is conceivable that monkeys and baboons, in spite of the great troops of the latter, also fail to some extent in this respect. They are also by no means constant denizens of fly-belts.* : A feasible explanation of the dependence of G. morsitans on the larger Ungulata. seems to be that a regular supply of blood is essential to the continuance of the fly, and that this is only afforded by the presence during the greater part of the year of these grass-feeding animals. An irregular supply is afforded by monkeys, baboons, small buck and other animals, and possibly birds, which may help to tide the insect over periods of scarcity. It does not appear to be incomprehensible that a regular supply of food should be of such importance to the species when we recollect the great expenditure of substance of the female in the comparatively slow process of repro- duction. The tsetse is obviously very delicately poised in the balance of nature, and any retardation of the rate of reproduction would obviously have a tendency to result in the failure of the species to maintain itself. When food is scarce there is no doubt. that reproduction is retarded, and in belts where a season of scarcity occurs annually _ there will be comparatively few offspring produced during certain seasons of the year. The very few pupae found by the writer on the thickly infested Gorai River supports this view, especially when compared with the results obtained elsewhere in belts not subjected to annual periods of dearth. During a portion of the time when the flies are congregated in the shade provided by the banks of the watercourses reproduction is apparently very slow, and it must be assumed that the numbers of the tsetse are maintained by the breeding which occurs at other times of the year. Where, by the removal of the main source of food, tsetse is subjected permanently to an irregular supply and also forced to draw this from sources involving some danger to the fly itself, reproduction could quite conceivably fail to keep pace with the death rate, and the species die out on this account. The writer would emphasise the fact that no claim is made to have explained in the foregoing pages all the phenomena connected with the disappearance of tsetse-fly. There are far too many factors affecting the situation. Nor does he hesitate to admit, first, that there are many abler students who could have handled the subject with far more knowledge and dexterity than himself; and secondly, that many of his _ * Dr. R. E. McConnell’s observations on the actions of his pet monkeys when attacked by tsetse show that making a meal of monkey’s blood is not without danger to the fly itself. In connexion with a species to which the prolonged survival of the individual is of such importance as it is for Glossina, this may not be without significance. 108 RUPERT W. JACK—TSETSE FLY deductions are tentative rather than conclusive. The sole objectin view has been to point out that the apparent dependence of G. morsitans on big game is not quite such an inexplicable phenomenon as it appears to be at first sight. The position of tsetse-fly at the present time, in fact, would suggest some such dependence. A further experiment in the direction of ascertaining whether the spread of tsetse can be checked by the reduction of big game has now been commenced in the Sebungwe district. A wide belt of country, bounded on one side by the Umniati River and on the other by the Sengwa, has been declared an open area for shooting. The open area embraces the fly-belts shown in Map I between these rivers. The fly is reported to be spreading across this area from the west and east, and it is desired to prevent the two belts meeting and embracing the Bumi and Sesame rivers where there is a considerable — number of native kraals. Observations have been made on the limits and abundance of the tsetse, and, provided that the suspension of the game laws results in the destruction of the big game to a sufficient extent, the experiment should certainly yield valuable information. There is one side of the question which has not been touched upon, namely, the theory of a special association between tsetse-fly and buffalo. It is urged by those who support this theory that it was the nearly complete extermination of the buffalo, apart from other game, by the rinderpest that was the cause of the great reduction of fly which immediately followed. It this theory is still tenable, it must now be urged that the increase of fly has been due to the increase of this species of animal, unless, of course, it is suggested that the progeny of the fly that survived the year 1896 have acquired new habits, which would be merely a method of admitting that the theory no longer holds. Whatever may have been the position before the rinderpest—and buftalo blood may have been the most easily obtainable food of tsetse at that time—it is quite certain that in Southern Rhodesia to-day the fly is not in any way dependent upon this species of animal. Buffalo was at one time, as is well known, extremely abundant in various parts of the territory, but whatever may be the reason* its num- bers have not increased since the rinderpest in the same proportion as the various species of antelopes. This may be due to the fact that the reduction of the buffalo was more nearly complete than that of any species of antelope, or to some other cause ; but at the present time buffalo is not generally met with throughout the territory. Herds occur in certain parts, but as a species it is distinctly local. Were buffalo of vital importance to tsetse, herds would occur in some abundance throughout the fly-infested country ; but, as a matter of fact, there are great belts of country infested © with fly in which buffalo is rarely or never heard of, as in the greater part of the Sebungwe belt lying west of the Sengwa river, the biggest and most thickly infested fly-area in this territory. Buffalo does occur in parts of this belt, as on the lower reaches of the Busi River, where tsetse is reported to be very thick indeed. In October 1912, also, the writer saw traces of a small herd at Manzituba, but this is not a haunt of the animal, and there is little doubt that the herd was only passing through, probably towards the Busi. The writer could find no traces of buffalo at — this spot in the previous year and could obtain no information of its occurrence there from either white men or natives. There is also a herd on the Gadzi River, near its junction with the Sesame, where fly is present in small quantity only. Bufialo * The species has never been protected under the Game Laws. AND BIG GAME IN S. RHODESIA. % 109: also occurs in the fly-belt to the north of Tchetchenini Hill in the Lomagundi district, where fly is not particularly numerous, and another herd is reported to keep to the west of the Hanyani River below the escarpment, where fly is decidedly scarce, -especially in the dry season. To the north of the Hartley district buffalo is found near the Yabongwe River, where fly also occurs, but in no great numbers at the time of the writer’s visit in November 1911. In no other parts of the territory has the writer ‘been able to find traces of buffalo inhabiting the same stretch of country as tsetse, but there is evidence that instances occur in the north-west of the Lomagundi district, a part not yet personally visited. In Map I a black cross has been made at the spots where bufialo is known to occur within or close to fly-infested country. . It is instructive to note that in the one spot where the fly in the Sebungwe district appears to have found the most favourable channel along which to spread at the present time buffalo is by all accounts absent. This is the Lutope River, up which the fly certainly extended rapidly during the past few years. The writer visited this river in October last year (1913) and met a hunter who had also been to this part in 1912 and previously. This hunter stated that the fly had moved about twelve miles up the river since 1912, but too much weight should not be attached to the accuracy of this figure. That the pest had moved rapidly up the river appears, nevertheless, to be certain, as some natives who were being moved out of infested country on account of the sleeping sickness chose this part for their future habitation, and were astonished to find last year (1913) that fly was present in abundance in country which they had considered free. With regard to the absence of buffalo, the natives, native police, hunting “boys,” the Government officials at Gokwe (the present head- quarters of the Native Commissioner for the district, recently moved from Kariyangwe) and white hunters were all agreed on this point. The converse argument is of little importance, but one hears so much about fly following the buffalo that a very striking instance to the contrary may be recorded. ‘Near Nenyunka’s kraal on the Sengwa River there is a thick thorn brake, such as is termed isi-nanga by the natives, in which buffalo is very abundant, far more so than any other species of game in the vicinity, but tsetse is not to be found.. The writer’s companion on a recent expedition, Mr. Ernest Ritter, had.spent a week at this spot without seeing any tsetse, although keeping a constant watch for them. The writer, in company with Mr. Ritter, penetrated to the heart of the isi-nanga where the drink- ing places of the animals were situated and where the quantity of dung made the place look like a cattle kraal, and met with no fly. Nenyunka’s kraal is certainly marked on the edge of the fly-area in a recent map of the district, but this was on the strength of one or two having been reported to have been seen by natives. The edge of the belt to the south is, on reliable information, from ten to fourteen miles up the Sengwa from this point, and there is another belt on the lower reaches of the Sengwa, the limits of which have not been clearly defined, but here, in the very haunt. of the buffalo, fly is absent. To sum up the matter rather baldly, it is quite certain that no one having travelled through the fly-belts in Southern Rhodesia, as the writer has done done during the past five years, could entertain the idea that, except in a few localities, the blood of the buffalo is, even at long intervals, a regular food for the tsetse, much less that it is an essential one. 110 RUPERT W. JACK—TSETSE FLY AND BIG GAME IN 8. RHODESIA. A few words are necessary in connexion with the maps attached to the article. It should be noted that the maps of certain of the more remote districts of the — territory have been compiled from sketches alone, and that in the Sebungwe district there is not a single fixed point to act as a base. This explains the discrepancies in recent maps of this district which have been attached to reports. The map has been constantly in a process of correction and is still far from accurate. During a — recent expedition to the district the writer devoted what available time he had to corrrecting distances and directions, and took a large number of angles with a theo- dolite. It was, however, found impossible in the circumstances to connect these — with any fixed points, and as a consequence the map of the district (Map II), although believed to be a considerable improvement on previous sketches, is patchy, the old map having to be altered to fit in with the new, and certainly contains many in- accuracies. The map of the district as shown in Map I is drawn from the older sketches and the errors are still greater. It should also be borne in mind that maps of the distribution of fly cannot be made very accurate. During the latter part of the dry season tsetse is only met with along the shady banks of watercourses and vleis, but during the rains it spreads for several miles through the surrounding bush. Most of the mapping is done in the dry season, and a difference of a few miles is quite noticeable in a map drawn to the scale of five miles to one inch. Again, the “following distance” of the fly is probably not far short of ten miles, and may be more in extreme cases, and this obviously introduces another element of inexactitude. It is quite impossible to obtain an approximate delimitation of a belt by working from within. In such circumstances it is necessary to proceed further until clear of the fly and later to strike back until it is encountered again, and at least a day should elapse before this is done. Finally, whilst the limits of a belt along a river are never definable within a mile or two, if natives are con- stantly passing up and down the limits are still more elastic, and fly, having been -earried by natives, may be encountered one day 6 to 7 miles beyond the point where a visit the next day would place the border. These remarks seem necessary because the early hunters have insisted so strongly upon the sharp delimitation of fly-belts. Areas infested with G. morsitans are only sharply delimited in the writer’s experience roughly between July and December, when the fly is confined to the shade along rivers (dry or otherwise) and vleis, and even then the boundaries along the rivers are somewhat elastic. When the bulk of the bush is shady they shew no preference for their dry season haunts, occurring freely in the surrounding mopani belts and ““gusu” bush, that is, open forest consisting usually of species of Brachystegia with little or no undergrowth. | | reeaee tee cD te li cal Shee 29 Butt. Ent. RESEARCH. VoL. V., ParT 2. 25 26 ESE 27 [ | —— Areas from which tsetse disappeared at the time of the rinderpest. Ea} Approximate range of tsetse between 1896 and 1900 (probably not connie Range of tsetse at the present day..._.__..____ Spots where tsetse have been seen singly or in very small namber since 1905, but not associated with any permanent belt; fly i : at these spots at the present day..._____ ee ea Buffalo known to occur. _.__....__ __ MATETSIN~ 3 % yy & HARTLEY Eioonn & M A Seti o ok: Unni & M A eal ENKELDOORN (Lo) * BULAWAYO! | + Scale of Miles. 105.0 10 20 30 40 50 T GR AW GNG Se VarAgees VICTORIA Map showing the changes in the dist 29 30 31 ribution of GLOSSINA MORSITANS in Southern Rhod esia since 1896. A N/ D Bale & Danicleson It ter the in 1 bee Tece Orr. dolit with ‘belie map accul skete. Its very ¢ the sh miles « and a miles ° short ¢ anothe delimit to proc again, ¢ of a be stantly carried & Visit because of fly-be. experien along riv are some for their “ ousu” little or — Cts r ~ e — . " . ~ a ss eer : Bist were ar. ete bs FRR aoe ogee gine ema Oy 2 = ¥ : ta gh : , = < ¥ . = = - “a a cat 7 . a = ‘ — - “A : a a aoe a Sears a cere Ls = Se are a eee moeta a * - : . r : Ses or a Bee ae ~ 2 73 r neers - aes : aoe . “ a eo ' Butt. ENT. RESEARCH. VOL. Y., ParT 2. Scale of Miles 20 25 NORTHERN RHODESIA Limits of tsetse in 1913... -_____________._____-._-_-__- Limitsyofstsetsesini (G04, 2.22 eens soe cree ene imitsvofatsetseninnl9O tseeaseno eee en es eee 17,| == Kimitssofitsetse sin 1910.2 -=-- = <= 2 ee ee ee Map Ul. MT NTUNDAZI Map showing the increase i Bale & Danielsson Lit n recent years of GLOSSINA MORSITANS in the Sebungwe District. Southern Rhodesia. 11¢ £ It ; ter! the in r beer Tece Corn! dolit with belie map accul sketel Its very ¢ the sh miles 1 and a miles 1 short anothe delimit to proc again, é of a be stantly carried & Visit — because of fly-be. experien along riv are some for their “ gusu” little or 111 THE INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE, SUBMERSION AND BURIAL ON THE SURVIVAL OF EGGS AND LARVAE OF CIMEX LECTULARIUS. By A. W. Bacort, Entomologist to the Lister Institute. These experiments were performed in response to a question submitted to me from the Royal Sanitary Institute. The point at issue was the possibility of eggs of the © common bed-bug, Cimex lectularius, surviving the process of house-destruction, when the plaster from old walls, on which eggs had been laid, was broken down and remixed with fresh mortar for making the partitions of rooms in new tenements ; such survival having been given as an explanation for previously unoccupied houses being infested with bugs. Methods. The ova used in the following tests were obtained by placing twenty to thirty adult specimens of C. lectularzus in a 14-inch glass-bottomed entomological box. The open top of the box was covered with fine gauze, through which the bugs were allowed to feed liberally each day. When feeding was not in progress the box con- taining the insects was kept in an incubator at 75°F. A slip of cloth was used as a lining to the box to afford foothold. As the great majority of the eggs were laid on the cloth this plan afforded an easy means of dividing up batches of eggs into two or more lots, so that controls could be obtained without any disturbance to the eggs. In order to get large numbers for some of the experiments the eggs were in certain instances allowed to accumulate for from three to five days before removal. Tn experiments in which the eggs were submerged in water or buried in sand, those laid on cloth alone were used, but where the test was one of temperature alone, eggs laid on the sides of the boxes were occasionally utilised. In the case of the experiment with plaster the eggs were carefully detached from the sides of the box and cloth on which they had been laid. Control eggs were always taken from the same batch as those experimented with and all control eggs were kept from the time of laying in an incubator at 75°F. The attached table shows the number of eggs in each batch, together with the date of laying. Batches are lettered from (a) to (r), and as the batch letter is quoted against each experiment, it is possible to follow the history and find the percentage hatching in different portions of the same batch which were subjected to different conditions. 112 A. W. BACOT—THE INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE, Record of Eggs Laid and Nature of Experiments for which the various Batches were used. Numbers of Desig: || Naniber Numbers Se eee Submergence in nation of Dates between of Experiments. of Eggs in | which the various | Control 4 Batch. | Batch, batches were laid. | Speci- | | es ee | gi mens. | et Lime | Cold. | Heat. Water. Samat hs fy OES a 90 15-21 Nov. 713d, 7.) == 45 45 — — — — b 75 21-23. f. mi: — oA 38 — = — = c 61 23-27 3 | 25 — — 11 25 — — d 87 27 Nov.-1 Dec. 13/99 a — = = 58 —a e 45 | 1-4 Dee. 713 $7 15 — — 30 — —— — f 93 | 4-9 Pe ia 15 28 50 — — — — g 33 9-15 ee (ld 20 — — i — — h 18 24-25 March ’ 13 . 4. 14 — — = — — 1 18 25-26, os aay 2 16 — — — — — 19 16 "20-27. 5 by 5 | — — 11 — — — k 75 21230 ane, ey! 10 46 — 19 — — — l on 30-31 5, 12 — — 20 — —— — m 54 31 Mar.—2 Apr. 14; 20 — — — 34 — — nN ‘Er 2-3 April’14...| 6 — — 11 — — ~ O 70 3- 6 a AS Dame SRR ae — 18 —_ — — p 25 6-7 > wa 8 | — — 17 — — a qd 73 7-10, 13 60 — — — — — r 50 | J-6 May 714 19 — — = peag pects 31 Temperature experiments.—Ova laid on cloth were enclosed in an entomological _box (of card with a glass bottom), and this was nested in one of a larger size to avoid any possibility of escape.. In cases where eggs laid on the sides of the card box were used, this box was enclosed in a larger one. Submersion experiments.—Pieces of cloth on which the eggs were laid were fastened by one corner at the bottom of a waxed card jar and water was then ous in until the eggs were three or four inches below the surface. | Burial in sand.—A card jar was half filled with silver sand, the cloth ath, eggs attached was then placed on the surface and covered with sand to the depth of at least one inch. For the wet sand tests the jar was flooded with water, and the excess poured off. After the period of test the cloth was removed from the sand. and placed in a box preparatory to hatching. As it was usually found that a few of the eggs. became detached, the sand surrounding the cloth which contained the missing eggs, was placed in a second box. Washing off the surface on which they had been laid had no effect on the eggs, which hatched at the same time as those remaining attached. to the cloth. Plaster —The plaster of Paris used in this experiment was mixed with lime-water. — The surface was made very wet, so that the eggs might become partially embedded. They were scattered over the wet surface and became too firmly attached when the plaster set to allow of removal with a camel’s hair brush. Experiments with newly hatched bugs.—The insects used in these experiments were taken from among those hatching in the control boxes; they were not, therefore, SUBMERSION, ETC. ON LARVAE OF ‘CIMEX LECTULARIUS. 113 all‘from the same batch of eggs, but the eggs had:all been subjected to similar con- ditions prior to hatching. Ova subjected to cool conditions. : ee ae ONT 34 eggs of batch (q), kept between 40° and 55° F. (average temperature about 48° F. ) for 12 days and then transferred to'75 °F.—32 hatched= 94 per cent. (Control, 92 per cent. hatched.) 26 eggs of batch (g), kept between 40° and 55° F. (average temperature “about: 48° F.) for 20 days and then transferred to 75° F.—16 hatched— 61 Pe cent. Mh 5D 92 per cent. hatched.) 46 eggs of batch (k); kept between 40° and 55° F. (average temperature ‘abdat _ 48° F.) for 31 days and then transferred to 75° F.—25 hatched=54 gy cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) A marked feature of the last two experiments was the number of deaths during the act of emergence from the egg; in the last experiment no less than 10 (21 per cent.) failed to get free from the egg-shell. Ova subjected to cold. 20 eggs of batch (f) kept at 28° F. for 64 hours and then transferred to 75° F. —28 hatched =100 per cent. (Control, 93 per cent. hatched.) 20 eggs of batch (g) kept between 28° and 32° F. for 24 hours and then transferred to 75° F.—19 hatched =95 per cent. (Control, 84 per cent. hatched.) 14 eggs of batch (h) kept between 28° and 32° F. for 2 days and then transferred to 75° F.—13 hatched = 93 per cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) 16 eggs of batch (7) kept between 28° and 32° ¥. for 5 days and then transferred to 75° F.—4 hatched =25 per cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) 41 eggs of batch (0) kept between 28° and 32° F. for 8 days and then transferred to 75° F.—10 hatched =24 per cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) 45 eggs of batch (a) kept between 28° and 32° F. for 10 days and then transferred to 75° F.—none hatched. (Control, see batch (a) under Heat.) 3 “8 egos of batch (b) kept between 28° and 32° F. for 10 days and then transferred to 75° F.—none hatched. (Control, see batch (b) under Heat.) 29 eggs of batch (b) kept between 28° and 32° F. for 15 days and then transferred to 75° F.—none hatched. Ova subjected to heat. 45 eggs of batch (a) kept at 98° F., humidity -25 ;—41 hatched =91 per cent. 38 eggs of batch (b) kept at 98° F., humidity -25 ;—38 hatched = 100 per cent. 50 eggs of batch (f) kept at 113° F. ;—none hatched. (Control, 93 per cent. hatched.) Ova submerged in water. Between 60° and 63° F. , 11 eggs of batch (c) submerged for 26 hours—11 hatched=100 per cent. (Control, 96 per cent. hatched.) 30 eggs of batch (e) submerged for 44hours—23 hatched=76 per cent. (Control, 93 per cent. hatched.) (C53) | - 114 A. W. BACOT.—THE INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE, 18 eggs of batch (0) submerged for 3 days—17 minke 94 per cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) 19 eggs of batch (k) submerged for 3 days—19 hatched =100 per cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) 11 eggs of batch (7) submerged for 5 days—10 hatched=91 per cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) Between 48° and 50° F. 20 eggs of batch (/) submerged for 24 hours—16 hatched=80 percent. (Control, 91 per cent. hatched.) 11 eggs of batch (n) submerged for 3 days—11 hatched=100 percent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) Between 28° and 32° F.* 9 eggs of batch (p) submerged for 24 hours—9 hatched =100 percent. (Control, 100 per cent hatched.) | 8 eggs of batch (p) submerged for 48 hours—7 hatched =87 per cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) LInme-W ater. 50 eggs of batch (r) were submerged in lime-water (saturated solution of CaH202) for 46 hours at 63° F. and were then kept at 75° F’. ;—none hatched. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) | Ova buried in sand. Dry. 58 eggs of batch (d). The pot in which the eggs were buried was kept in a shed without doors, open towards the north from Ist to 5th December, 1913. Temperature about 43° to 47° F. The eggs were then transferred to the laboratory, at from 60° to 63° ¥.—58 hatched = 100 per cent. (Control, 76 per cent. hatched.) Saturated. : 25 eggs of batch (c). The pot in which the eggs were buried was kept in the same shed as mentioned above from 27th November to Ist December. Temperature about 43° to 50° F. The eggs were then transferred to the laboratory at 60° to 63° F. —24 hatched = 96 per cent. (Control, 96 per cent. hatched.) 20 eggs of batch (m). The pot in which the eggs were buried was kept in a cool room at from 47° to 53° F. for 4 days. The eggs were than transferred to an incubator at 75° F.—19 hatched =95 per cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) 14 eggs of batch (m). The pot in which the eggs were buried was kept in a cool room between 47° and 55° F. for one week. The eggs were then transferred to an incubator at 75° F.—12 hatched =86 per cent. (Control, 100 per cent. hatched.) Ova set in pilaster. 25 eggs of batch (s) were carefully detached from the sides and bottom of the box — and cloth on which they had been laid. The eggs were then scattered on to a very *The water was frozen round the eggs. SUBMERSION, ETC. ON LARVAE OF CIMEX LECTULARIUS. 115 wet plaster surface (gypsum, mixed with a saturated solution of CaH,O.,) so that they were partially embedded. All were found to be attached. 13 hatched =52 per cent. Experiments with larval bugs in 1st instar. Cold conditions ; unfed. 7 unfed and 2 fed larvae were kept at between 28° and 32° F. for 2 days; they had then lost power of movement. After half.an hour at 63° F. some had already recovered their activity. They were again kept at between 28° and 32° F. for 5 days and on examination were, to all appearances, dead, but after 4 hours at 63° F. they had all but one recovered their activity. After a further subjection to between 28° and 32° F. for 25 days they were kept at 63° F., but no recovery took place. 14 unfed larvae were kept at between 28° and 32° F. for 16 days and then kept at 63° F.; 3 made feeble movements after 2 hours, 6 were active after 24 hours, and 10 were active after 48 hours. The remaining 4 made no movement, but were prob- ably paralysed rather than dead, as they showed no signs of shrinkage or decay after 96 hours, while their limbs reacted slightly to touch; 9 of the 10 that recovered were alive 12 days later. Cold conditions ; fed. 13 were allowed to feed on human blood and then kept in an - entomological box at between 28° and 32° F. for 18 days. They were then transferred to 63° F. Only 3 showed any signs of life and one of these soon died ; the remaining 2 lived for 15 days. Of these 13, it was very noticeable that all those which fed to excess failed to recover. Of the 3 which revived none had had a full meal, and the 2 which survived longest had obtained but little food. Death was not, I think, due to cold, but to the humidity in an artificially cooled room. Confinement in test-tubes, even when crumpled paper is given for a foothold, produces a high mortality among young, well-fed bugs, under ordinary laboratory conditions of temperature; while confinement in card boxes under similar conditions shows no death rate. Apparently it is necessary for bugs to be able to get md of superfluous moisture rapidly after a heavy meal, and this is inhibited in a humid atmosphere. Moderate conditions; unfed. 38 unfed larvae hatched at 60° to 63° F. from eggs that had been buried for 4 days in dry sand at between 43° and 47° F. (see experiment page 114, batch (d) ) were kept in the laboratory at between 60° and 65° F., and afford an excellent example of the ability of this pest to survive unfed under favourable conditions. 23 were active after 66 days 10 were active after 117 days ae 3 eo ae @ ss eee wee <1 pe a = EN i eee i ee Ze) dul eee nies ae i ae ae Pe ey eee _ (ie A: ee Se mC de Bink ve i+ apes ae — Pee ye SP Ee ©: IF ee aS ansusienet Maion a Ee tas casrieures TRUM T 0 The experiment terminated during a heat wave, when the piel es temperature was over 70° F. (C53) . B2 116 _ A. We BACOT:—THE INFLUENCE OF: TEMPERATURE, ° _ Moderate conditions ; . after feeding. . After a single meal one newly hatched bug — out of three lived for 270 days ;. while, out of 30 immature bugs in various stages of development, 7 were living and able to feed after a fast of 18 months. ue = case the box in which they were confined was kept in ‘an outhouse. os -Warm conditions ; unfed. 20 unfed bugs kept in an incubsher at 75° E., uit between °65 and -70, show the following record :— | Average life 6.) 8-4 Oey, 10 sgiale | Longest life . ... ee se 21 days as 16 unfed bugs, kept in an incubator at 88° F., humidity about *70 to -80 gave : ame 3 Average life .. ah .. 7 days. : ‘4 Longest life... ee io A days — ! Of 32 unfed bugs kept at 96° Hs humidity about 25, the record was :— Average life .. ifs .. 5 days — One survived for | i. .. °8 days ~ Hot conditions ; unfed. 23 unfed bugs were placed in an incubator : After 14 hours at 105.8° F. all were active. OQ, sMelitiag 16, DOP Ith iio OE Le Tee? 0}, SO de RE Os Che, See ae SQi0s Ooi WS OTTO Saki tadend: 4 unfed were placed in an incubator at 111-2° F. After 4 an hour all were active ; 5, 14 hours - dead ; the temperature having risen to 112° F. 6 unfed were placed in an incubator at 113-0° F. After 12 hours all were dead. ~ 20 tte were placed in an incubator at 113° F. After 5 minutes all were active ; 39 10 99 | 99 99 f db* Dag »» dead. Blacklock* gives 5 minutes at 113° F. as the time required to kill larval bugs, but he does not state his method. It is possible that the use of card boxes with cloth-lined sides accounts for the longer survival of the insects experimented with in the present instance. 3 SUMMARY. Eggs. Temperature. Liggs of Cimez lectularius are able to survive exposure to temperatures between 40° and 50° F. for periods of 31 days, and between 28° and 32° F. for 48 hours. Periods of from 5 to 8 days at the latter temperature reduce the percentage — hatching to 25 per cent. and longer exposures—10 to 15 days—are fatal. Tempera- tures between 60° F. to 98° F. are favourable, but 113° F. prevents hatching. *Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, iv, no. 4, Dec. 1912, pp. 415-428. SUBMERSION, ETC. ON LARVAE OF CIMEX LECTULARIUS. 117 Burial in Sand. Burial in dry or wet sand, with exposure to temperatures between 45° and 50° F. may be survived from 4 days to a week if the eggs are then uncovered and kept at a favourable temperature. Submersion in Water. Submergence in water at between 60° and 63° F. for a period of 5 days has no effect on hatching if the eggs are subsequently kept under favourable conditions. They also survive for at least 3 days in water at between 45° and 50°, and for 48 hours when the water in which they are submerged is frozen. Inme-water. Submergence in lime-water (saturated solution) for 46 hours is fatal. The eggs survive partial embedding in a wet plaster surface provided that emergence is not interfered with. Larvae. Newly hatched bugs, when unfed, can survive a temperature of from 28° to 32° F. for periods up to 18 days. They are also able to withstand chilling, thawing, rechilling and again thawing over shorter periods. When subjected to cold, moist air after a full meal they are liable to a heavy or even total mortality—probably in consequence of humidity rather than cold. Under moderate conditions of temperature—60° to 65° F.—they may live for 136 days unfed, and after a meal, for 9 months. Unfed, at a temperature of 75° F., with humidity between °65 and -70, an average life of 10 days, and an individual survival of up to 21 daysis possible. At 88° F., with humidity between ‘70 to °80, the average hfe is shortened to 7 days—the longest survival being 11 days. At 96° F. with humidity at 25 the average life is reduced to 5 days; individuals have survived for 8 days. Exposure to 113° F. is fatal within a few minutes.* *This temperature also destroys adult fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis) in a few minutes ; while two larvae of Periplaneta americana and a hibernated specimen of Calliphora erythrocephala survived the fleas at 113° F., but died within 15 or 20 minutes when the temperature had risen to 117° F. 119 PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE ACARI OCCURRING ON THE BROWN RAT (MUS NORVEGICUS) IN GREAT BRITAIN, WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES (HAEMOGAMASUS OUDEMANSI). By SraNuey Hirst. (Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum). Puates XIV—XVI. The English specimens listed below were captured on wild examples of the brown rat by the author, and those from Scotland by Waterston. Several of these mites have already been recorded by Dr. A. C. Oudemans and other authors as occurring on this host. Only three of the species (Laelaps echidninus, Notoedres muris and Myobia ensifera) can be regarded with certainty as being practically restricted to Mus norvegicus, but this is possibly also the case with Haemogamasus oudemansi, which so far has only been found on this host. The other species are frequently found on other mammals or in their nests, especially in that of the mole (see Oudemans, Acarologisches aus Maulwurfsnestern, Arch. Naturg. Berlin, 1913). My best thanks are due to Dr. A. C. Oudemans, of Arnhem, for the excellent draw- ings of Haemogamasus oudemansi which he has very kindly prepared and given to me. I must also thank Miss Gertrude Woodward for her careful drawings of the other - species. Family GAMASIDAE. (1.) Laelaps echidninus, Berl. (text-figs. 1-3.) Laelaps echidninus, Berlese, Acari, etc. Ital., fasc. xxxix, no. 1, figs. 1-4 (1887) ; Miller, Treas. Dept. Pub. Hlth. Mar. Hosp. Serv. Hyg. Lab., Bull. no. 46 (1908); Hirst, Bull. Ent. Res., iv, pp. 123 and 124, figs. 3 and 4 (1913). Protonymph (fig. 1). Three pairs of fairly conspicuous little shields and also a pair of very minute platelets are present between the two main shields of the dorsal surface Fig. 1. Dorsal and ventral view of protonymph of Laelaps echidninus, Berl. 120 STANLEY HIRST.—PRELIMINARY- LIST OF THE (for the shape and exact position of these-shields, see fig. 1). The two large shields are marked with a reticulate sculpturing formed by numerous fine lines. _Sternal plate reaching as far back as the interval between the third and fourth coxae, its posterior end being rather abruptly narrowed; three pairs of long fine hairs are present on this plate. Peritreme short, anteriorly it does not pass the third coxa. Length of body, *65 mm. Deutonymph (fig. 2). Dorsal surface covered with a single undivided shield which Fig. 2. Laelaps echidninus, Berl., ventral view of deutonymph. | is marked by numerous fine lines, mostly running transversely across its surface. Sternal plate narrower and much longer than that of the protonymph, being prolonged posteriorly well beyond the fourth coxae; there are four pairs of long fine hairs on its surface. Peritreme extending almost as far forwards as the middle of the first coxa. Length of body, ‘8 mm. ) 3. Chelacera fairly long and styliform; at its ade there is a delicate little lancet- shaped structure, and a membranous lobe, which perhaps functions as a sucker, is also present on the inner ventral surface of the basal end (fig. 3). Fig. 3. Laelaps ¢ Coa ains, Berl. ; chelicera of male. Loc. Several localities for this species are given in my paper quoted above. During July and August 1913, I found eleven more specimens on about three dozen wild rats (Mus norvegicus) captured at different times near Watford, Hertfordshire. The nymphs and male described above were bred (on white rats) from these specimens. ACARI OCCURRING ON THE BROWN RAT IN GREAT BRITAIN. (121 Laelaps echidninus is a true blood-sucking parasite. It is easy to demonstrate the presence of ingested blood of the host in the mite by teasing up freshly caught female specimens or making smear preparations of them, when large numbers of unaltered blood corpuscles will be seen. Mr. A. Bacot, of the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, and myself have made a series of experiments with a view to ascertaining whether L. echadninus is capable of conveying plague from rat to rat or not. Unfortunately, we could not get good plague septicaemia in rats, and our experiments were therefore quite inconclusive. Mice develop good plague septicaemia, but L. echidninus will not bite mice readily, hence our experiments with Mus musculus also had to be abandoned. The mite could not be induced to bite human beings. It may be of interest to note that a bipolar staining bacillus very closely resembling the plague bacillus sometimes occurs in smear preparations of L. echidninus bred on apparently perfectly healthy rats. (2.) Eulaelaps stabularis, C. L. Koch. Toc. We have specimens of this species captured on Mus norvegicus at the following localities :—Northwood, Middlesex, 4. x. 1913; one specimen. Banks of River Thames, between Hampton and Kingston, 8. ix. 1913; thirty-five specimens. Clachan, Argyleshire, Scotland, 25. x1. 1909; one specimen (Waterston). (8). Hypoaspis hypudaei, Oudms. _ Loe. Northwood, Middlesex ; a few specimens found on Mus norvegicus, x. 1913. Banks of River Thames, between Hampton and Kingston; thirty specimens found on Mus norvegicus. (4.) Haemogamasus hirsutus, Berl. Loc. Northwood, Middlesex; a single male specimen from Mus norvegicus. (5.) Haemogamasus nidi, Mich. (Pl. XVI, fig. 8). Haemogamasus nidt, Michael,. Trans. Linn. Soc. Zool. (2) v, p. 314 .& 315, pl. 32, . figs. 6 & 7 (1892). Haemogamasus machaeli,. Oudemans, BiidAchs, Nederland. Dierk. Ver. (2) vill, pp. 87 & 88, pl. 6, figs. 33-39 (1904); Oudemans, Arch. —— Berlin, : Abt. A, heft 8, pp..155-160, figs. 108-140 (1913). Q. Sternal plate not much shorter in the middle than at the sides, but furnished with only three pairs of hairs, as in H. oudemansi: Genato-ventral plate somewhat enlarged and rounded posteriorly ; the hairs on its surface are somewhat shorter and very. much more numerous than is the casein H. oudemansi.. Anal plate furnished with 7-9 hairs. 3. Chelicera.. Immovable finger rather gradually curved and the end pointed, but not abruptly turned down ; it has a transparent lamina instead of a hair... Movable finger very strongly curved (claw-like) and sharply, pointed. For the shape of its appendage see Pl. XVI, fig. 8. 46 _ Loc. Northwood, Middlesex ; a large. number of specitnens taken at different times on Mus norvegicus, mostly in Octohet 1913. Clachan, Argyleshire; Scotland ; three specimens taken on Mus norvegicus, 25. xi. 1909 (Waterston). Tochgellx: Fife, Scotland ; two specimens.from M. norvegicus, 21. x. 1909.. We have also a specimen 122 STANLEY HIRST.—PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE from Mus sylvaticus, taken on the banks of the River Thames between Hampton and Kingston. Also several specimens captured on Talpa europea, near Leipzig (O. Fritsche), presented to the Museum by the Hon. N. C. Rothschild. In addition to the material mentioned above, I have examined Michael’s types of this species and carefully compared them with some specimens from moles’ nests, captured by Heselhaus at Sittard and determined by Oudemans as H. michaelv. I cannot find any difference between them. A tooth is shown on the immovable finger in Michael’s figure of the chelicera of the male, but no such tooth is visible in his preparations of this appendage. (6.) Haemogamasus oudemansi, sp. n. (Plates XIV—XV)I). ©. Body elongate oval and much enlarged posteriorly, usually it is much distended. The scutwm leaves a considerable portion of the hinder part and sides of the body uncovered ; for its shape see Pl. XV, fig.4. Hairs both on dorsal and ventral surfaces long, fine and not nearly so numerous as is the case in the species of the genus hitherto described ; at the anterior end of the scutum there is a pair of longer hairs, which are very finely feathered. Sternal plate very short in the middle, but well developed laterally ; it bears three pairs of long fine hairs. Genito-ventral plate considerably widened and rounded posteriorly, the hairs on its surface being fairly numerous (never more than 22%) and long and fine. Anal plate pear-shaped, the narrowed posterior end being striate ; it has only three hairs on its surface and they are Jong and fine (Pl. XV, fig. 6). Peratreme extending slightly beyond the coxa of the first leg. Immovable finger of chelicera with a rather well developed and sharply pointed tooth at a short distance from the distal end, the end itself being bifid; avery fine and rather short hair is present just before the end of this finger. Movable finger with two well developed teeth and its distal end is also turned up and tooth-like (Plate XV, fig. 1). Colour of scutwm somewhat brownish yellow or buff, the soft integu- ment whitish. 3. Chelicera. Distal end of immovable finger distinetly turned down and pointed, and there is a very fine and rather short hair near the end. Movable finger bent abruptly distally so as to form a very large tooth; for the shape of the appendages of this finger see Pl. XVI, fig. 7. Deutonymph. Scutum narrower than is the case in the female, and at rather more than a third of the length from the posterior end it has on each side a slight narrow incision, which is continued inwardly for a short distance by a slight linear groove or marking. Sternal plate rather long, narrowed posteriorly, and furnished with four pairs of hairs. Anal plate pyriform and not unlike that of the female. Length of body of female, 1°1 mm.; of male, *76 mm.; of deuteronymph, *75 mm. Loc. On the banks of the Colne Brook, near Watford, Hertfordshire; a few specimens were found on wild rats (Mus norvegicus) caught alive at this locality and — forwarded to the British Museum. A number of specimens were bred on tame rats and mice at the Museum. Newton Abbot, Devonshire, v. 1914; a dozen specimens found in a kitchen used both as a living room and store room (Dr. T. Cockburn Smith). In Panzer’s “ Deutschlands Insecten,” Dr. C. L. Koch has figured a mite under the name Gamasus marginellus which has a dorsal shield shaped very like that of this ACARI OCCURRING ON THE BROWN RAT IN GREAT BRITAIN. 123 new Haemogamasus. This mite is depicted, however, as having a very wide body, whereas the body of H. oudemansi is always elongate and rather narrow, even when fully distended. Still it is possible that Koch’s figure represents a specimen of the Haemogamasus described above as new, which has been greatly flattened under a cover glass. In his monograph of the genus Gamasus, Prof. Berlese states, however, that G. marqinellus is G. (Pergamasus) crassipes, L., or some allied species. (7.) Eugamasus loricatus, Wankel. ' Loe. Northwood, Middlesex ; a single male deutonymph found on Mus norve- gicus. The shape of the epistome of my specimen is exactly the sameas ina male deuto- nymph sent to the Museum by Oudemans, the central process being almost truncate (sightly rounded) at the end instead of pointed as is the case in the female deutonymph of this species. (8.) Euryparasitus terribilis, Mich. Loc. Northwood, Middlesex; a single deutonymph fo und on Mus norvegicus. In the British Museum Collection there are also some deutonymphs of this species from Sorex vulgaris, Nigg Bay, Kincardineshire, Scotland, 12. xii. 1910 (LZ. G. Esson) ; these specimens were presented to the Museum by the Hon. N. Charles Rothschild. According to Oudemans £. terribilis, Mich., is a synonym of Gamasus emarginatus, C. L. Koch. (9.) Asca affinis, Oudms. Loc. I have examined specimens taken on Mus norvegicus at the following local- ities :—Northwood, Middlesex; one deutonymph. Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, 8. xi. 1909; two deutonymphs (Waterston Coll.). Lochgelly, Fife, 21. x. 1909; one deuteronymph (Waterston Coll.). Family IXODIDAE. (10.) Ixodes tenuirostris, Neum. Loc. Northwood, Middlesex; a nymph and a female from Mus norvegicus, ix. 1913. In the British Museum there are also specimens of this species found on Evotomys glareolus at Mumbles, Swansea (C. Oldham), and others taken on this host at Braunton, Devon (collected by W. Holland and presented to the Museum by the Hon. N. Charles Rothschild). Also a specimen from Microtus agrestris, from Cornwall, xii. 1913. Family SARCOPTIDAE. (11.) Notoedres muris, Megn. Loc. Northwood, Middlesex; specimens taken from large excrescences on the ear of a wild rat (Mus norvegicus) in the autumn of 1913; also numerous examples from tame rats in London. This species causes the sarcoptic mange of rats, a disease characterised by the presence of warty excrescences, often of large size, on the ears and in more advanced cases also smaller growths on the genitals, limbs and tail. This disease is very common amongst laboratory rats in London and, if neglected, affects the health of 124 STANLEY HIRST.—PRELIMINARY LIST.OF THE ACARI OCCURRING ON BROWN RAT. these animals very seriously. A good account of the sarcoptic mange of rats is given by Dr. R. Cranston Low in his paper entitled “ An Investigation into Scabies in Laboratory Animals” (Journ. Path. & Bact. XV, pp. 342-344, pls. XXXVIIL & XXXIX, fis 17-23, 1911). Family A Ta (12.) Myobia ensifera, Poppe. Loc. Banks of River Colne, near Watford ; specimens found on Mus norvegicus. This species is also very abundant on tame white rats in London. OTR | Faas : /atlads Cr a wt : mas the 5 ne ore! oe? ree ve rr V7" 4 < 7 7 4 ay ie iy: eo Vin ORR AR set ES r Z i" - * } “py cat te -_ . ie ‘am i y abel ha “SS ‘ i fra + ° : ’ hs oe 4 j y~ | 3 9 a ™ ‘A 4 ¥ et ae ° = 4 on = VEAL ATADA WO MOTAMe.D J Meee 433 yh tantly. Aghaahohwo wrenwigyords | | ; rs ° F =i Ler, i 7s) yay 7 ipa Ti)! ul fn i ry s ‘I en 1, “LOPLI CAO eV hy, Need te : | : ‘ seen) setc akties 6. sled TormsIpad 6 YW oho ? ar ‘ ‘ Lae HTS It Yrire} hey went f, oe ] mit oe ‘wine mei pag pil j P y! ty) be eh era) rvecy4 ue : : , ae ar Ale, j a s a) * 4 | f ‘ ay / >= 4 % , a "a ‘i, 7 | . At yh eS ae f ».' \ . i ‘ ds L + | n ) mt / 4 ti ‘ q ~ ‘ ‘ / ; 4 / \ il ‘ Ds e \ Ebert: + | . 4 MG | P i : . ) ets, Le i aie a gis ies ecupath ‘ea 4 > rn. or ane re : Poe at" ea bela! ; Pd Ai, d 1) een — a ae oo EXPLANATION OF PLaTE XIV. Haemogamasus oudemansi, Hirst, deutonymph. Dorsal view of deutonymph, x 96. Epistome and anterior end of body, x 316. a, Side hair ; 6, posterior hair ; ¢, hair on first femur. Ventral view of deutonymph, x 96. The palp from below, x 316. Hypostome and tritosternum, x 316. Chelicera from above, x 316. Chelicera from below, x 316. BuLL. ENT. RESEARCH. Voc. V., PART 2. PLATE XIV. BaLeE & DANIELSSON, LTD. A. C. OUDEMANS DEL. Haemogamasus oudemanst, Hirst, deuteronymph. ae Pai Pe A we. ; wind or. Qyramasrxil f Rye a" be . is soih ads rh a ia 4 to bow 1 Rap Bite vite) : ¥; £ * 1,1" ito! lo wei /peahre ‘ a me ¢ « oolen glass lo Weis soll —— . a ‘sinad to weiv I eecagb a \, oS yieory alg lamA {oy qannetsotiat bos émofeogyh — .1 Ax pi dani to wary mse ee ‘< = ALLEN r } \ - % , 4 f \ 4 t ; ' f h 9 4 ih q i } , 3 Fig. ee ee EXPLANATION OF PLaTE XV. Haemogamasus oudemansi, Hirst, female. Lateral view of chelicera, x 316. EHpistome and anterior end of body, x 316. Ventral view of chelicera, x 316. Dorsal view of female mite, x 72. Ventral view of same, x 72. Anal plate, greatly enlarged. Hypostome and tritosternum, x 316. Dorsal view of chelicera, x 316. PLATE XV. Vo. V., Parte, BuLL. ENT. RESEARCH. Bate & DANIELSSON, LTD. ANS DEL A. C. OuDEM Haemogamasus oudemansi, Hirst, 9: P) A4 ; Ae OV dai ti oO A Pay ? ‘4 ks GS : ape Rs er hs" ee A tut Pd ; a@ “ a OS i : ’ ; Meee he * ei i # ‘ Mi ao f e ) "a a ‘, > v f a Kt ‘ "i ‘ 1s 7 1 4 a \ ‘ oa ; bal bar ’ a , Py wy 4 . ; 4 \ ‘ f ‘ ‘ é ‘ , ow ‘_ giegstre* 7 é $, . ChifGay ; ae en yy * hs vance of ‘in ehiadl TYE) BigP aP eo sae By pi ge % , OF rf | it e bert 1; aba) x : hy : ad " eT Se: io seATBEION a je iss y> ‘ Ri i) i '¢ ) vt cal aid ade, yi oye, ino B, ..t m7 ify cf ih so imericats tou. ; 22a atdathh apr’ aa Sell i snceabioW fs ae 3 Fringe Spot (No. examined, 72). With spot opposite third longitudinal vein .. ep 64 With spot opposite lower branch of second ae meaical veut’ ~~. 4 With spot between lower branch of second longitudinal vein and third longitudinal vein... = a ae ae :. 4 Anopheles albotaeniatus, Theo. Myzorhynchus albotaenratus, Theobald, op. cit., iii, p. 88, 1903. Only three specimens of this species were found, all of which correspond with Theobald’s description. One was taken in 1912 and the two others in April 1913. They were all females and were captured in the estate (A) hospital. No larvae were obtained. In conclusion, I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Lt.-Colonel A. Alcock, F.R.S., C.1.E., for much valuable advice and assistance in the preparation of this paper and to the authorities of the British Museum for allowing me to examine the specimens in the national collection. (C 53) D2 yw sade snixhatnden walerinny. ) “arte 4 Mea 2 a aii Gy 9°%iuk ncaa ays ont to urudtogs, heres toasire ey na Q anlar haa oy 7 jaollacteds, aural byes. ade qj . , agin edt, ao. emetlagor we ‘tel Sy9oy one ried sont alde 00 oho, ott samt leteo® ad Dowodestese sa: B08 add sek ork lod of wolad. ove are FO eel, eee ey Paes |) a Bi ri e "9 | : a gu bb 4 Be aa} H “i ep , “ ah IO 2itd S70 ; aie rv lemth ritigat wal brid oid . - ’ - ee ’ . x is P 7a . ie oe 4 et . & ‘ e-. 2 eee te | HES t ‘ i } th e Vea : \ be) sy : Ly ise Lae \a: i cha ‘ wy bave stoi 9 “ a d . t 4 . & 1 f ow oe wt Oo bien, teh ‘ 4 i ‘ . =" x Rahs Bes o EFT ae Oe ; PL. pases 3 cine . \ fa i. a 7 : ‘ “,'s 3 : “ Pe - ay Ae A 3% ‘ : bite yy a4 ; 7 ‘ i 4 a { ¥] ie a t* z ‘sy 7 abe : ’ Fy o e 2 ae uo 3 : - ay | ‘ \ uJ , r We ka « "ter ars 7 “ “yi } 3 ae | f i ae ; > 4 + a : pS ie wy At ee a t ? ’ - ioe - 20 ri yr Let F 3 ‘ } rt r & Ta ‘ it H ae 4 . ert P ; oh RP = a a ix ow eS « * f eat ow FB | i: 4 itt a ; an 4 P i , * i « s . Sv Phage (Oh cote i 7 ne a4 Fi Fi Aa 2 Ui ; ‘ : s — et * , + Gg d pa Pr ret ee: J iB TOTS | ) . . : i sa Veep : i Sime, * o i ’ 2 4 eit j ' im bn 3 & +3 Te Sinagy + Ls. SURES tod ; ey. Pees Pes ¥. P - 5 ne ok ae 3 aS | ak 4 t ; cor i bal fo) TU Se ae a lox i) ent Re . ‘ : ’ on ao, . . op ag ee Me. i . : ¥ ei , t : ¥ é / MAiaite - Serl> tee wWeeererows ; : , seg Sa ‘ ANE ae ea ‘OA aSy pa € sh aA Brtecribo a] ow ree ey ay i ra ; ye 4 : : ct ‘ a : ; ‘ ¢ stekty & 1 RaGTO ah Spe 1 wide, aan 000. ol aon emnesey } PLS GATT RL OFn 9 ADC BOL Cs RRS GT 0 Dna eta oe cal: eae dh im : re . "a e } . .. , Ais HM s ) A % ahi P doyolh--A lanai ji Lotanenietbend was @ rt RS: . j LAL oA LOT DoT A CMP BOLE ES “Used ang wh wi oh deta | T grob fat: Yo “on Sia age pana Pik care a tale pe anne ai lb, ae Peres a ca} eo Oe +03 sO) Fa LES | 4 ; Pe Sd Re wis dy ha old Lg plas dovertres ik Delt } hy con Sane 4 yo PAS | Le i A aes . wr ' a’ 4 \ 1 7% ‘ $y 4 A 7 <1 . ‘i ‘ i ] y) i w ri , } ; Ry i . {} y a. ee | Att 4AM wy eNat 0 govusasishl Wo vorravaluxd Sd ae ‘ong te eonersy900 edt steoibai ersdanith i aT 5 \ a") & it \ h if if f on aariowr % anladcpon b. : : } | * alien Tunlhus. we edood = (g) % ) nei. “o ‘aastordame ado u (€) Me, Pe e8OOK peck a. j aarsy nett, bins : Silogiosts . bh. ; adood ; (3) Bigslsiqont/; aroiinsqua ss Acpowth, = srdeoved | atarhoitig. os winicowh. ; watnregniodio aodigor bh. ~ j \ @ * oA I .% ‘ f a) PROV. « “- i wi ¥ : 7 OE tisk Wiee | “a a, eS ee ee « , uv é ‘ at a : ra cz aCe Ree ae | or Vy fl A) 4 loll uit 7 . ae A. | >» aoe i | _— i - vibe ‘e 7 ‘? » ' a ery an EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE Figures IN Map III. The numbers indicate the occurrence of the following species :— (1) Anopheles separatus. (2) a kochi ; A. ludlowr. (3) a kocht ; A. umbrosus. (4) ba kochi. (5) - kocht ; A. brevipalpis ; Anopheles umbrosus ; Anopheles bar- berostris ; Anopheles punctulatus ; Anopheles leucosphyrus ; Anopheles albotaentatus ; Anopheles separatus. meee. ENT. RESEARCH. VOL. V., PART 2. Map III. GTIMANIS \ ‘y PANGERAN TUSMONGONG'S WERRITORY puak © Ny SKETCH-MAP OF THE WESTERN COAST OF BRITISH NORTH BORNEO. , nls y aS, ~ AN GAGs Oy ’ jh, Rd Ladd ’ C t ne el . Px } Nia, i 4 s\ ¥ a” 2 t 4 . a 4 ; , : F & . ¥ \ , 4 1 , 4 *. ¥. Ne y. t - q ‘ t ; \ $ ‘ ‘ ‘@ iJ} ee i4 4 ; Ph | . 4 . q ; ¢ ‘ ‘ c 7 oe a ee oy : Pa ate ee a A ey 5) ~ rt ‘ ‘ : idee 7 / » ; + aS 5 AT a oe ‘ Poi ¥£ ; el eke a e ys oe ; , hate iar tenideasinsen gti lle getty gts Mir inerg ie > ; _— : , \ J } - =f : - ¢ ms - - ar ‘ Mi yoo oern ~~ ‘ ke ae LY 2 , ; P ‘ * ‘ ; < “ ‘ : ms | A total or ee r = lt \ bs 3 4 Co ae oe Pe RS Tes Ne ‘ y { 4 ak | oh ce ay A ah Pa ay na J + TSA, ; vet ; * yy ae n ’ Fi Baal i" ae We an ea v : ¥ PR thd ete ge 4 } ‘ ‘ ig y ae 7 A ae : BULL. ENT. RESEARCH. VoL. YV., PART 2. Coofies UZ Cooltes = g 2 Q Q ROUGH PLAN of part of ESTATE JA’ Scale 200 yds - Imch The circles indicate thase species the larvae of which were found in the Sago, swamp. Anopheles brevipalpis ” koch / /eucosphyrus punctu/atus Separatus éarbarostris umbrosus a/botaeniatus On OUR WDN — Tans re, M49 AUSTRALASIAN HISPIDAE OF THE GENERA BRONTHISPA AND ip hieigmaanay WHICH DESTROY COCONUT PALM FRONDS. By Watter W. Froceatr, PT tas., Government Entomologist, New South Wales. * With the increasing demand for copra all over the world for the production of coconut oil, the cultivation of coconut palms has increased enormously during the last ten years in the Solomon Islands, New Britain, Papua, ‘Samoa, and the New Hebrides, and large areas of virgin forest have been cleared and planted on regular scientific principles. In olden times most of the-nuts were collected from the native — plantations, where the palms were grown under almost wild forest conditions, and wére then more hardy and did not suffer to the same extent from insect pests as do the palms planted under modern conditions. It is probable that the increased food supply, represented in the fronds 6f the thousands of young coconut palms planted out, has ‘been responsible for the-enormous increase of a number of indigenous leaf- eating beetles, which, under the conditions previously prevailing, lived upon the wild coconut and other species of palms growing in the jungle.- In addition to many insect pests allied to or identical with those known in Ceylon, India, and the Malay States, we: have in these Eastern islands a number of leaf-destroyers.in the small flattened beetles belonging to the family Hispipar. The larvae: of these beetles feed either on the upper surface, or in the tissue of the leaf under the ‘protection of which they finally pupate, so that one can sometimes obtain the whole life-history from the egg to the perfect insect in a single palm frond, The majority of these leaf beetles, which are causing so much damage in the coconut plantations, belong to the genus Promecotheca, Blanchard, and from what we know of the life-history of several species that. have become serious pests, it is faisly safe to assume that the habits of all the species are similar. : 60 --The described species given by Weise.in the “ Giaibens: Bicetendan ”? (1911) eae 15, and range from China to the New Hebrides. The following ones occur in the area under survey, and notes are given upon those that have been recorded as pests of coconut palms. The life-histories of the different species of this genus are so similar that it is here only necessary to give that of a typical one, and I have selected for this purpose the species in the New Hebrides, which has done such an enormous amount of harm during the last few years to the coconut plantations. The New Hebrides Coconut Hispid (Promecotheca opacicollis). : , This insect is known among the planters as “the Blight,” “the Fly,” or “ the Beetle Pest” of the coconut: palm, and is said to have been noticed by some of the settlers in the islands over 50 years ago. About 1905 they were first recorded in the Northern Islands of the group, damaging palms in the cultivated plantations, and three years ago there was a regular plague of them all over the islands, from Sandwich to Santo. At the request of a number of planters interested, I paid a visit to the New Hebrides in June 1913, and spent over a month among the coconut plantations studying the insect pests, and this beetle in particular. . The damage done is twofold ; first, that caused by the Year ct secondly, that caused by the adult beetles. ‘The beetles lay their eggs in little clusters, of five 150 WALTER W. FROGGATT—AUSTRALASIAN HISPIDAE OF THE upon the under surface of the palm frond, covering them with a little mound of chewed- up fibre. Under this protection the larvae hatch out and gnaw their way between the two layers of the leaf, feeding as they go, until they have excavated a regular gallery, forming a brown blister up to six inches in length and half an inch in width. © When fully fed the larvae pupate at the end of excavation. The elongated blisters in the fronds shrivel up and, when numerous, the whole frond is destroyed. The beetles, however, do more damage than the larvae, because while swarming over the under surface of the leaves, and also while laying their eggs, they feed upon the fronds, gnawing long parallel furrows down the centre. Besides the damage caused by the beetles and their larvae, each of these damaged fronds becomes a centre of infection _ for the fungus diseases which are so prevalent in the tropics. Hach frond dies back to the mid-rib or main stalk, which turns brown and decays down to its junction with the-trunk of the palm. Behind the basal fronds are produced the flower spathes, - afterwards replaced by the bunches of coconuts, and when these fronds fall from the trunk, the coconuts as they increase in size are unable to sustain their own weight, and are, therefore, torn off from the attachment to the stem of the palm, and fall to the ground while still immature and of no commercial value. Therefore, after the beetle infestation, the crop is very poor, unless the coconuts happen to have been well matured before the beetles attacked the foliage. In the season following an attack by Hispids the coconut palms, denuded of ail these lower — leaves, have to grow a fresh crop of foliage before they can put forth fresh flower spathes ; the annual output is thus less than that of the previous year, and often it is not until the following season that the coconut palms have absolutely regained their former vigour. It is frequently stated by the planters that the palms are killed outright by these beetles. But the coconut is a very hardy tree, and as long as the terminal leaf-buds are uninjured they will put forth fresh leaves and recover sooner or later from the attacks of the beetles, unless these are followed by a continuous drought or other abnormal conditions, when the enfeebled palms cannot withstand the additional strain. The Fiji Coconut Hispid (Promecotheca cocruleipennis, Blanchard). This is the type of this genus of destructive beetles, and was deseribed from Fiji by Blanchard from specimens obtained during the voyage of the “ Astrolabe,” which was sent out by order of the King of France on a scientific expedition in 1837-40. The insect is described and figured in the Zoology of the expedition published in Paris in 1853. From Blanchard’s figure and description this appears to be the common leaf Hispid of the coconut in Fiji, although in Jepson’s report it is identified as Promecotheca reichit, a species which, according to Gestro, may be a variety of P. coerulerpennis. Jepson has described and figured the life-history of this insect, and states that it has only been found upon a few of the islands. It is therefore a local pest, and is not, like the New Hebrides species, spread all over the group, though its life-history and habits are identical. It is abundant in March and April, but is heavily parasitised in the egg, larval and pupal stages. The parasite, which is a different hymenopteron from that which is found attacking the eggs of the Leaf Hispa of the New Hebrides, seems to be a useful check upon its increase in Fiji. | GENERA BRONTHISPA AND PROMECOTHECA. 151 The beetle is smaller than P. opacicollis and differs in having the antennae light- coloured on the basal joints, with the head (except the eyes), thorax, legs and basal third of the wing-covers yellow and the hind two-thirds of the wing-covers deep metallic purple to blue. The Solomon Is. Coconut Hispid (Promecotheca antigua, Weise). The writer did not notice this beetle during his visit to the Solomon Islands, but subsequently received a number of specimens from Bougainville. It had been previously recorded from New Britain and German New Guinea, where it is known as a leaf pest of the coconut palm. Closely allied to P. opacicollis in size and general form, it differs in having the basal joints of the antennae more ferruginous, the head and thorax black, the wing-covers more rugose, not so deeply striated, of a uniform light colour for the first three-quarters and the apical quarter black. The Queensland Coconut Hispid (Promecotheca callosa, Baly). _ This species is found in Northern Australia upon native palms. There are several specmens in the Macleay Museum collections from Cape York, Queensland. It measures slightly over one-third of an inch in length and is somewhat broader across the shoulders than most of the species previously noticed. The head, thorax, antennae, and under surface are black, with only the tips of the tarsi golden yellow. The elytra are yellow, swelling out on the front margin, but of a uniform width, broadly rounded to the tips, and ornamented with eight parallel striae on either side, impressed with small deep contiguous punctures. Nothing has been recorded of the habits or exact food-plant of this beetle. The Port Darwin Coconut Hispid (Promecotheca varipes, Baly). This species is represented by several specimens in the Macleay Museum. Mr. Lea informs me that there is a specimen in the Adelaide Museum from the same locality (Port Darwin, N. Australia) obtained upon the foliage of Pandanus. About the same size as the previous species, it has the head, thorax, fore legs and elytra yellow ; the tarsi, the junction of the femur and tibia of the fore legs, the antennae, the middle and hind legs, and the under surface black. The thorax is deeply constricted by three transverse rounded ridges, the central one the broadest. The elytra swelling out in front, broadly rounded to the apex, with similar parallel striae, but the punctures deeper than in P. callosa. | | Two species have been described from German New Guinea by the Hungarian Entomologist, Csiki, Promecotheca biroi and P. papuana, but neither has as yet been recorded, so far as I know, as a pest of coconuts. The Leaf-bud Hispa (Bronthispa froggatti, Sharp). The larvae of the beetles of this genus are not leaf-miners, but feed with the adult beetles upon the epidermis of the opening leaf-buds, protected in the half-folded fronds. This species is included here as it has done a great deal of damage and caused much extra expense in the work of looking after the young coconut palms in the plantations in many parts of the Solomons. The beetle, larvae and pupae may be all found together in the same palm frond, so that their life-history can be easily studied. Both the beetles and larvae gnaw 152 WALTER W. FROGGATT—AUSTRALASIAN HISPIDAE, ETC. the surface of the leaf, which, as it expands, shows large blackened areas through the damage thus caused ; and where the leaves are badly infested they keep dying back one after another, so ‘that the growth of the palm is seriously retarded. __ Originally described from specimens sent to Dr. Sharp by. me and obtained i in plantations in New Britain, this beetle was found a few years later swarming in the coconut plantations in the Solomon Islands -It has, however, a still wider range, for last year (1913) I discovered it in many parts of the New Hebrides, where it was usually to be found in the fronds of any smail, sickly or:damaged tree, but was not ai “yuae on healthy cultivated palms, as it was.in New Britain and the Solomon Islands. The beetle is slender, almost cylindrical i inthe body, and tapering at the tip of the ener from the tip of the antennae it measures up to. half an inch in ‘length. General delet shining black, with the thorax and fore pair of legs dull yellow, the second pair marked with yellow. ©The small héad-is produced-in frontinto.a lance- shaped projection between the antennae ;.the thorax almost. square, slightly hollowed, out on the sides, and curved, round i in front behind the. eyes. The slender body. i8 covered with stout: black | ‘wing-covers, deeply’ ribbed + with ee punctized striae, ss and rounded at the extremities. Se KG ‘At first the chief method adopted i in dealing’ with these’ beats and their larvae was to apply a tobaccoand soap wash. This was efiective when shaken or sprayed into the infested fronds, but the difficulty was to see that the native boys | did the work properly. ‘Afterwards and at the present time, when a ‘ beetling Ps carried out, the tips of the infested fronds are cut off as soon as noti¢ed and burnt with the éggs and larvae before they have spread downwards to” ‘damage the whole of the young leaf. “>, 153 -TWO NEW SPECIES OF FRUIT FLIES FROM SOUTHERN. INDIA. : By Pror. M. Bezzi, — Turin, I taly. Sistcoare (Chactodacus) Pe ae ari sp. n. >. Very nearly allied to B. scutellaris, Bezzi (Memoirs of the I ndian of seer iii, 1913, 9 98, pl. viii, fig. 10), but differing in-its smaller size, black face, differently coloured, scutellum and unicolorous wings. . This-last character distinguishes it at.< once from any other Oriental species of this genus: at bi present, known. .) 35. : bao: 6. Length of body, 5mm. 7 : : Teak *. Head exactly as in my description of B. soiteellarts swith the following dlitoizen io — the lunula is black ; the face is-entirely of a-shinitig black colour, instead of yellow with two black spots. Thorax‘with no dorsal yellow stripes behind the suture, and only a very short stripe on each side Jaterally ; the other yellow markings are as in scutellaris.. Scutellum ‘black, adorried: with two very broad, bright orange spots, one on each sidé; or-it-might be described as bright | orange, with a broad median longitudinal Pick band ; the basal pair of bristlesis'placed near the base of the yellow: spot, the apical pair is: placed:ou:the sides ‘of the black stripe.: «Abdomen. entirely black, even on the venter ; there is a dark yellow transverse band on the hind border of the second segment,. anid sometimes there are two less distinct brownish-yellow spots on the middle of the hind border of the third and fourth segments. Legs as in scutellaris, but the front femora are almost‘ entirely black ;- middle tibiae and tarsi wholly yellow. Wzngs hyaline and without any dark pattern; only the stigma is of a dark yellowish colour; anal cell a little infuscated towards the end of its prolonged point. Type § and ieee’ specimen from © Bee 4; 100 feet; Arabidacool, ! Estate, 25th March—29th April 1913. | 2. “Monacrostichus crabroniformis, ‘SPs Math . | | -A very distinct species, which.shows the iat ici of my genus M onacrostichus (see Philippine Journal of Science, viii, 1913, p. 322), having long and -porrect antennae and the abdomen club-shaped ; but the front femora a are not nt spinon beneath. _ g. Length of body, 5: 5 mm ;, of anténna,'1:5 mm. | Head partly yellow; occiput black, with a narrow penalloted salads circle sind the eyes ; frons brown, with a yellow spot near the vertex on each side of the ocelli,. and a small arcuate yellow band above the lunula, which is black ; cheeks small and yellow, face wholly shining black ; jowls yellow, with a dull black spot. Antennae porrect, much longer than the face; the first two joints are yellow, rather long and of equal length; the last joint is a little shorter than the first two joints together, dark brown, a little yellowish towards the base; the arista is thin, nearly as long as the third joint; palpi yellow. Thorax black, densely punctate, with the following markings yellow :—humeral callosities ; a narrow stripe along the transverse suture, broadly interrupted towards the middle; a fascia on the mesopleura, extending from the transverse suture, where it is in contact with the dorsal stripe, to the upper part of the sternopleura, and there forming a very small dot ; and a broad spot on the hypopleura. Scutellum entirely yellow, with a narrow black band at the base. Chaetotaxy: there are no praescutellar bristles, and the anterior supra-alar 154 PROF. M. BEZZI—TWO NEW SPECIES OF FRUIT FLIES FROM SOUTHERN INDIA. bristle is indicated only by a hair ; no acrostichal bristle ; scutellum with only the apical pair of bristles. All the bristles, like those of the head, are black. Mesophragma black, unspotted. Halteres yellow. Abdomen very strongly stalked, clothed with rather long whitish hairs, which on the sides are very long ; it is black and punctate like the thorax; the second segment has two yellow bands, one near the fore border and one on the hind border, the latter interrupted towards the middle ; third segment. entirely black and without rows of bristly hairs on the sides; fourth with two less distinct dark yellow spots on the middle near the hind border; fifth with a rather broad yellow hind border. Genitalia small and yellow; venter black. Legs black, with yellow tibiae and tarsi; front femora without spines beneath, almost entirely black ; middle femora narrowly yellow at the apex; hind femora with more than the basal half of a light yellow colour ; hind tibiae a little infuscated near the tip. Wangs hyaline, a broad brown band from the base to the end of the third longitudinal vein, but the costal cell wholly hyaline; the marginal and submarginal cells are entirely filled with brown, the colour extending a little into the first posterior cell towards the hinder half of last portion of the third longitudinal vein ; stigma darker, anal cell entirely hyaline to the end. Type 3,.a single specimen from Yerkaud, Shevaroy Hills, 21st April—20th May 1913, 4,500 feet. In the same small collection of Indian fruit-flies, forwarded by Mr. EH. Ballard, Government Entomologist, Coimbatore, there are two other very interesting species :— | Leptoxyda longistyla, Wied.; two male specimens from Coimbatore on Calotropis, 6. x. 1913 (7. B. Fletcher). These specimens agree very well with those from Erythraea, Kassala and Senegal in my collection. The species has evidently been imported from tropical Africa, with the plant on which it is always to be found, Calotropis procera (cf. Bezzi, Mem. Ind. Mus, iii, 1913, p. 92). Dacus brevistylus, Bezzi ; two male specimens from Siddhout, Cuddappale, on melon, April 1910. This is also an African species, which is widely distributed in the European region, being a serious pest of melons (cf. Silvestri, Boll. Labor. Zool. gen. e agr., Portici, viii, 1913, p. 94, fig. 2 and Bulletin no. 3, Dw. Entom. Hawan, 1914, p. 93, pl. viii, fig. 27). This is the first time that the species has been recorded from India. 155 DESCRIPTIONS OF FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. By Bruce F. CumMMinGs, British Museum (Natural History).* The following systematic work was carried out in the Entomological Department of the British Museum and is based on material in the National Collection. An endeavour has been made to extend the area of the field usually covered by the systematist in his search for characters, although the author is well aware how far short of the ideal in this matter the paper falls. The species described are :— ANOPLURA. Haematopinus taurotragi, sp. n. Linognathoides spermophil, gen. et sp. n. MALLOPHAGA. Colpocephalum mjobergi, sp.n. Goniocotes waterstoni, sp.n. Menopon robsoni, sp. n. Haematopinus taurotragi, sp. nov. (figs. 1, 2). In the collection of carded material mounted dry, a large series of Haematopini was found, labelled: ‘‘ From the Eland, Boselaphus oreas, Knowsby Menagerie, 1857.” In spite of their age and dried condition, these specimens made excellent prepara- tions, from which the description below is drawn up. H. taurotragi belongs to the “ tuberculatus”’ group founded in 1851 by Lucas (1) with the description of H. tuberculatus. Subsequently, Piaget (3) described a variety of this species under the name penicillata, which, as Neumann (2) points out, is probably no other than H. eurysternus (Nitzsch). Thus, starting with H. tuberculatus and H. eurysternus, we must include in the group the doubtful species of Rudow, H. punctatus (4), the perfectly distinct form, H. bufali (Geer)—the same perhaps as Gervais’ H. phtiriopsis—and the new species now under consideration. Below is a list :— | Parasite. Host. H. tuberculatus (Burm.). Bos bubalus, ‘“‘ Bos americana,” Camelus dromedarius (2), “ Chinese Water Buffalo” (5). H. eurysternus (Nitzsch). Bos taurus. H. bufali (Geer). Bos caffer (2). H. punctatus, (Rudow). Bos grunniens (6). H. phtirvopsis (Gervais). Bos caffer (6). H. taurotragi, sp. n. Taurotragus oryx. External Form, Male and Female.—A description of those characters only in which this species differs from H. tuberculatus is sufficient. In H. tuberculatus the sternal plate is quadrilateral, with the anterior angles projecting a little; in the * Published by “permission of the Trustees. TF or references see page 176. 156 BRUCE F. CUMMINGS. parasite from the eland the sternal plate 1 is a sexually dimorphic character, and in the male exhibits the form illustrated in fig. it with which may be compared the sternal plate of the female (fig. 1 c). On the male genital plate a transverse row of hairs is present, usually four in number. Midway, each lateral: margin is deeply. incised so that the anterior half of the plate is in part separated from the rest. Both sternal and genital plates are some- what variable characters i in re ag male of ‘AL. niberculatus and = are by no theans Fig. 1? Haematopinus taurotragt, sp. Nov: (a) Terminal ‘abdominal segments - -of 9, underside: D, dorsal plate: G, gonopod (the elongate hairs on the margin. are omitted) ; V, ventral plate-—(b) Thoracic sternite of ¢. —(c) Thoracic sternite of .9.—(d).Mouth-parts: D, rostral denticles ; L, larynx; M, mandible; R, Tostrum ; the needle -like trophi are omitted. PN caer Pet , ¢ f constant in the form now. Gade Peaerition: But the we sternal plate of the one never approaches the form shown i in the other, and it may be said that, as a rule, the’ row of hairs on the genital plate in i. tuberculatus consists of more _ four, while the lateral incisions are less deep. biiones th SD 2 ‘ae : : ’ The female genital plates’ offer very excellent distinguishing characters. “They : are two in number, in the: position and. of.the.conformation..indicated in the figure.” In H. tuberculatus the ventral plate of ) the, female isin the form of a fleur de lys. FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. 157 ~ Chaetotaxy, Male and Female.—Along the tempéral margih of the head are two widely spaced hairs; in H. tuberculatus there are 3 or ’4 moderately long hairs in © this position fairly close together. On the abdomen, the lower side of each pleural angle possesses 2 small hairs ; in H- tuberculatus in the same position there is a row of 9 or 10 closely placed hairs. * Mouthparts.—In fig. 1 d, will be found the pair of structures lying one on each side of the pharynx inside the head called by Enderlein (7) mandibles. It is not possible here to enter upon the much-discussed question of the homologies of the Anopluran cc x Sa SS y 4 2 | iC SS We a k=, 7 \ xg, TO) AGS ( ~ Ue bn Ay EL : vi | (i + Gs Tab. TERZIY Fig. 2. Tracheal system of Haematopinus taurotraqi. AR, anterior root; C, commissure; CC, cephalic complex ; CR, crural roots; LCT, left cardinal trunk; 4th LD, 4th lateral diverticulum; M.Sp., mesothoracic spiracle; PR, posterior root; RCT, right cardinal trunk; Sp., spiracle; Tab., chitinous tab of spiracle ; NC, visceral complex. mouthparts and particularly of the needle-like trophi used by these blood-sucking insects for piercing the skin. But the opportunity is taken to point out that the “mandibles ”’ are well developed and quite visible through the integument without the aid of dissection. The chitinisation of the pharynx is very complex. The fulturae are small. 7 | mo lf ol 158 | BRUCE F. CUMMINGS. Tracheal System (fig. 2).—The systematic value of the tracheal system will only emerge after more prolonged study. Not much is known at present about. it, but in view of such information as we already have at our disposal, it is tempting to hazard the opinion that well marked generic, if not specific, characters will be found, and that in the ultimate classification of these insects this important system, together with the others, will be drawn upon to give at. least its tittle of evidence in the difficult questions of phylogenetic affinity. In H. taurotragi the system.consists of two cardinal trunks situated longitudinally one on each side, and connected by a commissure at the posterior end of the abdomen. Kach cardinal trunk gives off (in the abdomen) 6 lateral diverticula running out to the spiracles. In the thorax there is one large lateral diverticulum which runs up dorsally to the single mesothoracic spiracle. This diverticulum exceeds the main trunk itself in girth. There is an enormous visceral complex formed by the rami- fying branches of roots arising from the cardinal trunks. Another large complex exists in the head, formed by the cephalic branches. In the male the commissure runs across the posterior end of the abdomen, dorsal to the genitalia, just below the level where the parameres articulate with the basal plate. In the female the com- missure runs across the genital plate. With the exception of the last, each lateral diverticulum of the cardinal trunk gives off two branches, one anterior and the other posterior, the latter beg the larger. Other roots arising from the cardinal trunks in the abdomen are shown in fig. 2. As regards the origin of the smaller roots, the tracheal system does not show a symmetrical arrangement on each side. In the thorax we find a large trunk given off to the third pair of legs, which divides into two and then into still smaller divisions. Two branches likewise supply the second pair of legs, but each of these arises separately. Just in front of these the large trunk to the mesothoracic spiracle is given off. A commissure accompanies the cardinal trunk along its inner side from the base of the branch to the third pair of legs, anastomosing again with the main trunk in front, just at the pot where the trunk gives off the branch to the mesothoracic spiracle. This commissure gives origin to no smaller branches. Hach cardinal trunk terminates in the prothorax by trifurcating into three relatively small branches, two of which go to the first pair of legs and one to the head. Their method of origin is displayed in fig. 2. The spiracles present some features of interest. Mjéoberg (6, p. 217) has figured and described the spiracles and closing apparatus in several different species of © Anoplura. From these figures, it will be seen that the various species differ some- times very considerably in regard to these characters. In all of them, and in H..tuberculatus as well, the spiracular chamber shows the same essential features, 1.e., a narrow neck and a single chitinous “tab” standing off from the neck and giving attachment to the muscle of the closing apparatus. But in H. taurotragi these “tabs”? are two in number, one on each side of the neck. Each abdominal spiracle opens at the extreme lateral margin of each segment. The somewhat concave pleural plate lies on the ventral surface of the pleural area and the spiracular chamber lies in this concavity and can. be seen from above through the transparent dorsal integument. : . Male Copulatory Apparatus.—This agrees closely with the figure given by Mjoberg (6, p. 231) for Haematopinus phtiriopsis. That is to say, the parameres are united FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA, 159 at. their distal. ends and the chitinisation of the preputial sac is markedly asymmetri- cal, particularly at the junction with the basal plate. The chitinous “ leiste,” marked “ X” in Mjéberg’s figure of H. phtiriopsis, in H. tawrotrag: curls round the ends of the parameres and extends partly up the other side of the preputial sac. There is.no penis. Measurements of HAEMATOPINUS TAUROTRAGI im millimetres. | 3 | 9 | Length. Breadth. | Length. | Breadth. Head - I §: val oe 5 8 | 55 Thorax .. oe 85 z! "725 1:5 | “i 1-25 Abdomen.. . nts 2°4 L5 | 2°8 , 2:25 =e Maemioried.ols huis xo: 3-825 | 4:3 | | 3 - Length of legs .. es Ist 2nd 3rd Ist 2nd 3rd Femur... rs =p Pa aii | “4 “45 33 “oo gi Tibia + tarsus .. a Julmiong 55 “75 *55 “bo “55 Claw = ie rf . +25 “2 35 25 3 25 Total he ae ste]! pes 115 1:55 =| 113 1-18 1-13 | re 2 Length of Segments of Antenna. 1 ll 09 2 ll "081 3 i 07 4 09 ‘07 5 12 ‘09 Total a Me bi "54 401 Linognathoides, gen. nov. This new genus is instituted to include specimens of a new form of louse presented to the British Museum by the Hon. N. Charles. Rothschild and collected in Transcaspia by W. Koshantchikov on two different hosts, viz., Cricetus phaeus, now known as Cricetulus phaeus (Pallas), belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, family Muridae, and Sypermophilus leptodactylus, now known as Cutellus leptodactylus (Licht.), belonging to the subfamily Sciurinae, family Sciuridae. The Museum collection contains a second species of Linognathoides, also the gift of Mr. Rothschild, which stands very near the present species and was taken on Marmota pruinosus, Gmelin, a North American squirrel of the subfamily Sciurinae. 460 O70. “BRUCE F. CUMMINGS. - This second species is: probably new, but is represented by only two poor specimens: The fact that they stand so near to the‘species about to be described affords strong presumptive evidence that the real host of L. spermophili is Spermophilus (or Citellus) | and not the Murid Cricetulus.. A reference to the published descriptions of species from squirrels, e.g., Piaget’s H aematopinus setosus from Xerus guttulus and Polyplaz (?) montana (Osborn) from Sciurus cmnereus, makes it probable that at least a few of these will be found to fall very naturally into the new genus. Linognathoides occupies a position midway between the genera Linognathus and Polyplaz. The Polyplax characters are the strongly chitinised abdominal pleurites, which project on each side from the sides of the abdomen as blunt teeth, and the small size of the spiracles. The Linognathus characters are the large, soft abdomen without tergites or sternites, fat and much distended (so that it is ditienls to clear with potash), and the long hairs which clothe it dorsally and ventrally. Other generic characters may be taken from the head, which widens suddenly behind the antennae, the sexual dimorphism present in the latter, and the terminal segment of the abdomen of the male, which is drawn out on each side (fig. 3) into a finger- shaped lobe, exactly as in Piaget’s figure of H. setosus. Linognathoides spermophili, sp. nov. (fig. 3). External Form, Male—Head: The first segment of the antennae is the neste and at its distal end on the upper surface is a minute, short denticle or “‘ thorn.” There is another denticle at the distal anterior angle of the third segment.’ The third seoment differs from that of the female in that the distal anterior angle projects somewhat and the anterior lateral margin is consequently longer than the posterior. Thorax broadening posteriorly. No sternal plates visible. First pair of legs with the claw bifid at the tip; coxae of all three pairs widely separated, but those of the first pair nearer to each other than those of the other two pairs. Abdomen: The end of the abdomen is dorsally produced into a rectangular flap (fig. 3) formed by the tergite of the terminal segment. On each side of this flap the pleurae are produced into two finger-shaped processes, one on each side, converging inwards and meeting each other at the tip. On the ventral side a-membrane stretches across between these two processes. From the base of each process a splint-like piece of chitin runs forward on the ventral surface to meet the Bea plate, which is of the form shewn in the figure. -> ° : - External. Form, Female —H. on The pre-antennal area-is Tae: than it is in the male ; the denticles are absent from the antennae, and the third segment of the latter is of the same form as the second. Abdomen as in the male, the sutures between the segments are difficult to see, and the tergites and sternites are absent. It is rather more swollen, soft and ovate than in the male. The pleurites do not differ in shape from those of the male (fig. 3). The gonopods are triangular, the apex of each triangle pointing inwards. Between the gonopods is a triangular genital plate, with the apex pointing backwards. In front of this plate is a second one, transverse in position and broader than long. . b (tus Chaetotaxy and Colouration, Male—-Head: On the margin of the pre-antennal area two small hairs, one on each side of the oral cone. A longer one on each side, a little further. back; near the latter, but just inside the margin, another hair: FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. 161 On the dorsal surface on the pre-antennal area, just behind the posterior margin of the transverse brown band, two small hairs in the middle, fairly close together. A little further back two more small hairs, widely separated. Behind the antennae two longer hairs one on each side, well within the lateral border near the ocular emargination. Two or three small hairs in the ocular emargination. Further back on the temporal wings, three hairs and one long bristle. In the middle of the dorsal surface of the post-antennal area, two minute hairs. On the ventral surface two small hairs one on each side of the rostrum. A _ hair of medium length on each side on the lateral margin of the head, just inside the posterior margin of the first segment of the antenna. Thorax: On the Nimtarrcien Ny ANAS (ATEAAATAARIIAKN MA RAARA | )\ seal M\\ .. PPT AV ee Nan ie 2 Pen. | Fig. 3. Linognathoides spermophili, sp. nov., ¢: a, bifid claw; BP, basal plate; GP, genital plate; F, flap; M, mesosome; P, parameron; Pen., penis.—(a) Abdominal pleurites dissected off.—(b) Mouth-parts: D, rostral denticles; F, fultura; L, larynx; M (?), mandibles. mesonotum just inside the spiracle, one short hair and one long bristle. Abdomen : On the dorsal surface, segment 1 with numerous hairs in the middle; segments 2 to 8 with a row of well-spaced hairs; segment 8 bare, excepting for two short hairs in the middle. The rectangular flap of the terminal segment possesses several hairs along the margin. Between the hairs above described occupying the mid-dorsal region and the hairs on the pleural area, there is in each segment a break or bare patch, which results in a longitudinal bare patch down each lateral part of the dorsal surface. (C 53) E 162 | BRUCE F. CUMMINGS. On the margin of each pleural plate are two long hairs (fig. 3a). On the dorsal side, in the pleural area of segment 2, is an irregular patch of short hairs; on segment 3 - a row of three long hairs with a fourth behind ; on segment 4 a row of four long hairs: and one behind ; on segment 5, of five long hairs; on segment 6, of four long hairs ; on segment 7 there is a row of three long hairs and one behind; and on segment 8 three short hairs irregularly placed. The termination of each of the two finger-shaped processes at the end of the abdomen is armed with a number of strong recurved denticles. On the ventral surface there is a single row of hairs on each segment, excepting segment 8, which has only two hairs, one on each side of the basal plate. Further down are two more hairs, one on each side of the elongate mesosome of the copulatory apparatus. On the head there are two brown “ taches ” in front of the antennae, one on each side, and there is a small brown mark in each ocular emargination. Chaetotaxy, Female—Abdomen with two longitudinal bare areas as in the male. Segment 91s bare on the dorsal surface, except for four hairs on each side in a short transverse row, situated along the lower margin of the extreme lateral portions of the terminal dark band. On the ventral surface the hairs, as in the male, are less numerous than they are on the dorsal surface, and thinner, shorter and more widely spaced. They are arranged (somewhat irregularly) in two rows on each seg- ment, excepting on segments 8 and 9, the former having a batch of minute hairs on the genital plate, and the latter with the hairs arranged on the gonopods and genital plate as described immediately below, i.e., there is a group of four hairs of medium length on the lower part of each gonopod and two smaller ones on the inside of these. Over the triangular genital plate there is a patch of 10 minute hairs arising from large alveoli. There is a powerful spine on each side of the genital opening, standing in a group of smaller hairs. A short longitudinal row of hairs runs from the base of each gonopod backwards, passing outside the spine to the margin. On the dorsal surface of the last abdominal segment, a narrow band of dark-coloured chitin runs in a semi-circular fashion from one lateral margin to the other. The concave side of the band is posterior, and the two lateral ends on reaching the pleurae double back beneath to the ventral side, where they carry the He spine and group of hairs _ which guard the opening to the genital organs. Mouth-parts—Mandibles of the shape and in the position of those figured for Haematopinus taurotragi are absent. Enderlein (7) in his description of the mouth- parts of Pediculus vestiments regards the lateral “taches” as containing the vestigial remains of the mandibles, which are so well developed apparently throughout the genus Haematopinus. These “ taches,” however, appear to be no more than coloured and strongly chitinised supports for the sides of the proboscis, and resemble similar chitinous thickenings on the ocular emarginations and on the temples and elsewhere. I have tentatively suggested in fig 3 6, that the two small pieces one on each side of the oesophagus in front may be homologous with the mandibles. The larynx is quite characteristic of this species, being transversely furrowed and roughly heart-shaped. Male Copulatory Apparatus*—The paramera are so closely applied to the mesosome . * The terminology adopted in this and other descriptions of the copulatory apparatus of the male is that suggested by the Rev. James Waterston (8). : FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. 163 as to be scarcely distinguishable from it. The endomera are fused and drawn out into a structure shaped like the head of a spear with serrate lateral margins. The penis is present. The basal plate is long and parallel-sided. | Measurements of LINOGNATHOIDES SPERMOPHILI in millimetres. ) ? Se h ength. readth. Length. Breadth. Head aan - bs She “39 -28 ‘43 335 Thorax .. cs om a 27 ‘41 365 B46 Abdomen. F is in “e 78 62 1-3 “95 Total Ne uk y 1°37 131 2°095 1831 ) g Length of legs .. a Ist 2nd 3rd Ist | 2nd 3rd Femur... 2 fe Bans (El 083 083 "116 “11 096 Tibia -+ tarsus .. ‘fF «| ‘14 "183 "183 "17 *24 *266 Claw " - ds --| °053 sis 4 "085 096 12 Total we “A --| °403 *366 -366 °371 "446 482 — —_ | — 3 S Length of Segments of Antenna. 1 05 07 | 2 06 07 3 06 06 + “04 04 5 03 05 anette 2 teal Wotal ez. ty : | 24 "29 } Colpocephalum mjobergi, sp. nov. (figs. 4, 5, 6). The species of Colpocephalum. here described was taken on a species of crested guineafowl, Guttera cristata, Pallas, in the Budongo Forest, Unyoro, Uganda, on 14th December 1911, being part of material submitted for determination and kindly presented to the Museum by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology. External Form, Male (fig. 4).—Head : The eye is prominent and the cornea apparently consists of two lenses connected by aneck. The black pigment of the eye is broad at the base, the distal half being conical, the cone running out to touch the cornea at the neck between the two lenses. The antennae have the third segment peduncu- late and the fourth broad, columnar and parallel-sided. Thorax: The prosternite is small, oval. The endoskeleton is worth remark. The “clavicles” are strong bars running upwards and forwards from each side of the prosternite (C 53) E2 164 <1 ep ~DRUCE ®. CUMMINGS. 2 sy 8 Sar to be inserted into pie Siva anterior corner, ne — Hs ae made by the transverse band where it enters the longitudinal band on each side. The upper end of each clavicle is a little swollen and shows as a minute colourless circle upon the dorsal integument, suggesting that this may be an atrophied spiracle and the clavicle itself a tracheal tube metamorphosed into a chitinous support. . Legs: First pair: the coxae lie longitudinally and are in shape something like a propeller-blade ; posterior margin of the femur very convex. Second pair: coxa in the form of a truncated cone ; femur less powerful. In all three pairs of legs at the distal extremity of the Si aga Le ne A ii My iM Ie EN es \ tiny Ne sei es | ; TiN a\ Fig. 4. Colpocephalum\'mjdbergi, sp. nov., d- (a) Mandibles.—(b) Mouth-parts, with the mandibles removed: BP, basal piece; CC, chitinous chords; Mx.L, maxillary lobe; OS, oesophageal sclerite; P, labial palpus; Pl., fringed plate; T, tentorium ; TB, transverse bar, with muscle strands attached. tarsus, projecting between the two claws, in the position usually occupied by the pulvillus i in Diptera, are two minute delicate organs (fig.5, Pv.). Only one on each tarsus is shown in the illustration. These small pulvillus-lke structures occur in Menopon and other genera and are perhaps of general occurrence in the Mallophaga. Kellogg and Nakayama (9) have recently described them in their new genus Philandesia. If they really prove to be homologous with the pulvillus, the Mallophagan onychium must be something sua generis. Abdomen: The figure (fig. 4) gives an excellent idea of the shape. ) “ks m FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. 165 External Form, Female (fig. 5)—Abdomen : The genital plate is triangular, with the apex pointing backwards. There is another plate of indistinct outline in front of it and covered with a dense cluster of hairs. On each side of the genital plate a VW ARUOSSKY a \ A A) EE AG We, 0 gh acs >>. h g Wa \ ‘ ~ iN Fig. 5. Colpocephalum mjobergi, sp. nov., 9, underside: M, mentum; MP, maxillary palpus; Pv, pulvillus; SM, submentum. small somewhat triangular plate is situated, of rather uncertain outline. The whole abdomen is broader than that of the male and less graduated in width towards the tip, which is quite as wide as the base. Chaetotaxy, Male (fig. 4)—Head : On the anterior margin two fairly long hairs, widely separated ; two shorter ones, one on each side, further back. On the promi- nence in front of the ocular emargination are situated one long bristle, two shorter spiny ones behind it, and one in front of it. At about the same level, only inside the margin, on the dorsal surface, two hairs of medium length, close together. On the margin at the base of the clypeal area and at about the level of the mandibles, a fairly long hair on each side. A short hair over the eye. A strong ocular fringe is present, the anterior hairs being the longest. On the temples, on each side, two very elongate hairs and two or three shorter ones. Along the occipital line, four— hairs of medium length, overhanging the pronotum. Further out, near the temporal 166 3 _ BRUCE §, CUMMINGS. angles, two widely-spaced minute hairs. On the ventral surface, two longitudinal rows of hairs, four or five in each row, running from the submentum to the occiput. On the premandibular cushion there are 12 spines on the anterior margin, the outside ones being the longest, and 16 smaller ones, more closely spaced but with larger alveoli, on the posterior margin. Just behind the posterior margin of the cushion and near the tips of the mandibles are two small denticles, each of them bifid. Thorax : Anterior margin of pronotum with a small hair, just outside the occipital hole. The angles of the lateral wings each with two short spines, one below the other; two more behind, one below the other. The posterior margin of the pronotum with a row of well-spaced hairs of medium length. Just inside the wing, at each end of the trans- verse line, a small hair. Lateral margins of the metanotum with many short hairs. Other hairs arranged as in the figure. The legs are noticeable for a patch of thick hairs on the lower surface of the hind femur.-:' Abdomen : Tergites each with two irregular rows of well-spaced hairs of medium eneth, except the ninth, which is bare. Pleurae with longer hairs, one being, as a rule, much longer than the rest. Pleurae of segment 8 with two long hairs.. The lateral margins of the terminal segment with six hairs on each side, the last one being very long ; the apical margin with eight or nine smaller hairs. Sternites 3 to 7 with a patch of short hairs crowded together on each side of the middle line, well within the lateral margin. Sternites 2 and 3 with a number of fairly small, irregularly arranged hairs, present also on the other sternites, between the right and left patches. Lower lip of the opening to the genital chamber with numerous long bristles. Chaetotaxy, Female (fig. 5)—Abdomen: Tergites bare except those of segments 8 and 9, on the former of which there is a row of hairs on the posterior margin, and on the latter, numerous small somewhat scattered hairs arranged in an irregular row. Sternites as in the male. Genital plate bare, but covered by the cluster of hairs which are situated on the plate in front of it. Integument dorsally and ventrally covered with an immense number of minute denticles, like the skin of a dogfish. Pleurae with many short spines. Pleurae of segments 2, 4, 6 and 7 each with a single long hair, 8 with two long hairs. Terminal margin of the abdomen with four powerful spines on each side and one long hair on the inside of these ; between these two longer hairs are numerous less powerful spines. Lip of the opening to the genital chamber closely set with numerous spiny hairs. Colouration.— Both sexes are white above; eyes bie On the ventral surface the male has the sternites of the thorax dark yas or black. The abdominal sternites also show in most specimens an irregular, dark brown patch on each side. The ventral surface of the female is coloured as follows :—Tips of mandibles black ; two black marks on each side of the occiput ; prosternite brown, lateral bands in the mesosternal region black ; abdominal pleurae each with a heavy, dark brown, longi- tudinal band ; each sternite banded transversely with brown, paler in the middle. Mouth-parts (fig. 4, a, b)—Labium: The submentum is a well-marked broad ~ rectangular plate. The mentum carries two small lobes, usually called paraglossae. Between these are two slight projections carrying several small hairs. Isopogometric apparatus* ; The anterior cornua of the oesophageal sclerite (or lyriform organ), * See E. Armenante (10). FIVE NEW Sete OF ARORRURS. AND MALLOPHAGA, 167 are rather long and truncate at the tips. There are no posterior cornua, but, at the posterior end of the sclerite, is a transverse chitinous bar (fig. 4, 6, TB) which projects on each side, each free end being buttressed against the oesophageal sclerite by a small piece which runs forward and somewhat downwards, as the bar is not only posterior to the sclerite, but also dorsal. Numerous muscle fibres are attached to the transverse bar. The two basal pieces (or lingual “ glands ’’) are parallel-sided, with truncate anterior and posterior ends. The chitinous chord (or “ duct”) bifur- ‘cates far forward, where each ramus or branch curves round and runs backward to enter the basal piece. The descending and ascending chords are parallel to each other. In front, at the point of bifurcation, the chords bear a delicate plate, the dentate anterior edge of which projects from the mouth. First mazillae: The palpus is fairly long. The first segment is wider distally than proximally, the two middle segments about equal in size, and the terminal segment longest and columnar. The lobe is rather elongate and narrow. In front, it is, as usual, armed with a patch of minute hook-shaped denticles. The lobe is thinly chitinised, except on the outer margin behind the patch of hooks, where there is a thickening, for a muscle attach- ment. Mandibles as usual. In optical section a series of deep, longitudinal grooves are seen to be: present. Cushion much broader than long, considerably shorter than the cushion of the Goniodidae. It is convex in front, and slightly concave behind, the thickened margin being continuous all the way around. In the Goniodidae it ceases at the base on each side and the lower margin is therefore separate, at each end supported by a narrow longitudinal sclerite which runs backward beneath the mandibles. Tentorvwm: I have ventured to homologise with the tentorium a struc- ture of the head, which I do not think has hitherto been described in Mallophaga. This is a broad band-like transverse plate situated in the gular region just below the integument. The posterior lateral angles project backwards in a well marked pro- cess (fig. 4, b, T). At each side the band curves upwards to the roof of the skull. The perpendicular walls thus formed run forward towards the mouth-parts, joining up with the thick chitin which forms the point: of articulation to the mandibles. Alimentary Canal (fig. 6, a).—This is of the same general type, which distinguishes the Amblycera, but the crop, or ingluvies, is unusually large and without anterior diverticula. Its large size and perfect oval shape recalls the crop in the Ischnocera. The lining is covered with very minute hairs, and around the lower end of the crop is the usual row of teeth (10) or ingluvial comb (fig. 6, a, or). Hach tooth is a flat sabre-like blade, serrate along one edge. The ventriculus, in the specimens examined (which were not very well preserved for the study of the soft parts), is a somewhat broad tube without anterior diverticula and connected with the crop by no very marked constriction. The rectum is large and globular, or bowl-shaped. The six glandular patches are rectangular with rounded angles. Male Reproductive Organs (fig. 6, c).—As usual in the Amblycera, there are six testes, three on each side, pear-shaped and sessile on the vas deferens. The vesi- cula seminalis bears a curious resemblance to the Ctenophor, Hormiphora (fig. 6, ¢, Vs). The originally double character of this organ is still indicated by a fine line (or furrow) which runs up through the aboral or anterior end. Two accessory glands are present, one on each side of the base of the vesicula seminalis. They are attached lower down and nearer the upper end of the ductus ejaculatorius than an examination of 168 BRUCE F. CUMMINGS. the figure might lead one to suppose. Accompanying the ductus from the seminal vesicle towards the preputial sac are two enigmatic structures, one on each side. The ‘preputial sac is large when expanded, its surface covered with minute recurved denticles. Male Copulatory Apparatus (fig. 6, b).—The basal plate is elongate, the strongly chitinised lateral margins curving in towards each other. The paramera are long and curve gracefully outwards at the tip. The articulation of the paramera with the Vs CT at Qe Prp.S Fig. 6. Colpocephalum mjébergi, sp. nov. (a) Alimentary canal of 92; Oes., oesophagus; CT, crop teeth; V, ventriculus; Int. intestine ; R, rectum; RG, rectal glands; T, one of the crop teeth highly magnified.— (b) Male papular apparatus: BP, basal plate; E, endomeron; P, parameron; T, ? telomeron; Prp. £, preputial sac.—(c) Internal genital organs of g: VS, vesicula semi- nalis; AG, accessory gland; VD, vas deferens; T, testis; DE, ductus ejpculiae ; Prp. S, preputial sac. basal plate is somewhat complex (fig. 6, 6b, P). Hach of the side-pieces (or lateral margins) of the basal-plate sends forward beneath the articulation of each para- theron a narrower piece which, meeting its fellow in the middle line, runs forward with it without fusing to the base of the preputial sac, a deep groove lying between them ; they perhaps represent the telomera. Distally they fade away into the mem- brane of the sac. The endomera are well developed, resembling the paramera in form, and are articulated below the latter to the basal plate. ‘ FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. 169 Measurements of COLPOCEPHALUM MJOBERGI in millimetres. | 8 | WHR: | Length Breadth Length Breadth Head * “er hy me “4 64 “41 Prothorax ef eu By "22 47 *24 528 Metathorax - qe ae 21 “51 27 68 -Abdomen.. e af n 1°35 67 1°56 °85 Total as a a 2°18 2°48 Ist pair. | 2nd pair.) 3rd pair.|| 1st pair. | 2nd pair.| 3rd pair. Length of legs. i an ane al, Seta aah ann Femur .. aa of wat ce “21 34 “24. “25 28 Tibia A EL off SLE “2 27 “21 a2 27 Tarsus + claws.. J Liban “2 “21 "16 18 -20 Meet oheecow 4.15 4256 Joie v6) “82 ‘61 64 15 Length of Segments of eee oo Palpus. Antenna. Palpus. and Palpus of the Ist Maxilla. | __ 1 03 ors a 03 03 2 04 026 04 03 3 03 -03 05 03 4 06 06 083 06 oO ae ee "146 -206 "159 Menopon robsoni, sp. nov. (fig. 7). This remarkable louse, named after Mr. G. C. Robson, of the Zoological Depart- ment of the British Museum, was brought back by the Wollaston Expedition to Dutch New Guinea, 1913. The label on the tube endorsed “C. B. K.” (C. Boden Kloss) conveyed the information that its contents, including 2 females of the new Menopon, several specimens of Nirmus varius and a single Corvine Dochophorus, were taken at Launch Camp, Setakwa River, on 13th March 1913, on the “ Hawk Crow.” Mr. A. F. R. Wollaston kindly tells me that I should be probably correct in referring this to Gymnocoraz senex (Corvidae). M. robson belongs to the general type of Carriker’s Colpocephalum extraneum from the nightjar, Nyctidromus albicollis (Costa Rica) (11) and also of Kellogg’s Colpocephalum sjéstedti from Corvus scapulatus and Corvultur albicollis (Africa) (12), characterised by the development of pro- meso- and meta-thorax into separate thoracic elements (as in T'rinoton). ‘There can be no doubt that these two species, together with the new M. robsoni, which are all closely related, form the nucleus of a new genus of Mallophaga, with members of the Corvidae as hosts. 170 BRUCE F. CUMMINGS. The genus, Colpocephalum, is in the present state of our knowledge, often difficult to separate from Menopon. The new species is, however, placed in Menopon, rather than in Colpocephalum, on account of the characteristic Menopoid roofing over of the ocular emargination. | I have been unable to refer to Carriker’s description of C. extraneum but am satisfied from Kellogg’s references to it that M. robsona is a different species. To C. sydstedts the new species stands very close. Fortunately, the British Museum possesses @ single female specimen of C. sjdstedti identified by Prof. Kellogg, and by the aid of this and his figure and description it has been possible to signal the differences. It was sometimes difficult to make the figure agree with the description, and the specimen ~ of C. sjéstedti is unfortunately a poor mount. But according to the figure and the specimen the mesonotum of that species runs out straight into a pointed posterior -angle. In M. robsoni the outline at the sides of the mesonotum is convex. In the abdomen, segments 2 to 6 in C. sjéstedtt have many short spines on the lateral margins, segments 7 to the last. each having two elongate hairs in the same position. In M. robsoni segment 2 also has two elongate hairs. The pleural plates are quite different in form in the two species ; there are no median plates in M. robsom, and C’. sjéstedti on the dorsal surface just inside the pleural region of the abdomen on each of the segments 2, 3, 4; 6 and 8 there is on each side a single elongate bristle which is absent in M. robsoni. Another very considerable difference between the two species is to be found in the sternites of the thorax, which are different in form (particularly the metasternum), and the chaetotaxy is on an entirely different plan. External Form, Female.—General conformation peculiar. The thorax dorso-ven- trally is deep and antero-posteriorly very long. The abdomen is very short and decreases rapidly in depth from the base to the apex. Head: The figure gives an accurate idea of the shape of the head, and a reference to it (fig. 7) and to the figure of the antenna (fig. 7, b) makes further details superfluous. Thorax: Wings of pronotum rectangular. Posterior margin convex on the mesonotum and rounded. Prosternite like a bow and arrow, the tip of the arrow pointing to'the rear and pro- jecting slightly beyond the convex margin of the plate, this margin being semi- circular and representing the bow. The anterior part of the prosternite, representing the posterior part of the arrow, instead of being narrow is broad. The clavicles run down from the anterior shoulders to join the posterior part of the prosternite. The mesosternite is a powerful sclerite, densely chitinous and roughly quadrilateral. The four angles each with a chitinous ray. The two anterior rays are long, run outwards transversely on each side to the lateral margin and, joming the mesonotum, coil around the base of the coxa of the second pair of legs so as to form an acebabulun. The front margin of the plate is slightly convex. The hind margin is straight. The metanotum is produced on each side into two large shoulders. The metasternite is the largest of the three sternal plates; it is dagger-shaped with three acute angles anteriorly, one on each side and one in front. Legs: Coxae of first pair lying just below the prosternite and in front of the anterior bars of the mesosternite. They are nearer to each other than the other two pairs of coxae, and also longer. Abdomen: Nine segments, with traces of a tenth on the ventral side at the base. Spiracles minute, only 5 visible. Segments 8 and 9 longer than the others. Basal segments short, with the suggestion of being somewhat telescoped towards the metathorax. FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. 17 1 Pleurites with an oblique phisial jie dena in segments 3, 4, 5 and 6. Ventrally, segment 1 has a short, broad sternite, divided by a median line into two separate plates. Segment 2 with a sternite longer than any except those of 8 and 9. On segments 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 there are no median sternal plates ; that of 8 is large and semi- circular. _ Chaetotaxy, Female.—Head : Two straight hairs close together on the clypeal margin in front. On the margin, in front of the spot where the tip of the maxillary palpus projects, 3 more hairs. Two hairs above the tip of the palpus. Two very long hairs and two shorter ones on the margin before the antennae. The ocular th ‘i cS X\\ it Ws ae , Fig. 7. Bil robsoni, sp. nov., @: py ? pulvillus; (a) mandibles; (b) antenna; (c) maxillary palpus.. TERZI J fringe consisting of about 8 or 9 hairs. Temples with 4 very long hairs, not set in very large alveoli. Along the occipital line two long hairs in the middle, and two shorter ones on each side of this pair further out. A hair on each side on the dorsal surface near the base of the antenna. Thorax : Wings of pronotum with two short spines in front ; a third further back well inside the margin. Prosternite with 2 hairs in front. Convex posterior margin of the pronotum with 6 or 7 fairly long hairs. Mesonotum probably bare. Mesosternite with a row of 4 small widely- spaced hairs. Shoulders of metanotum with 3 elongate hairs and about a dozen shorter ones of varying lengths. Hind margin with a row of moderately long hairs. Tn the middle of the metanotum two patches of small hairs. Posterior half of the 172 BRUCE F. CUMMINGS. meta sternite crowded with hairs of medium length. Abdomen : Chaetotaxy a little uncertain owing to lack of material. Tergites with a few minute hairs on the posterior margin ; these are longer on segments 6, 7and8. Pleurae of segment. 1 with a bunch of small spiny hairs on the ventral surface; those of the other pleurae with smaller and fewer spines in the same position. Pleurite of segment 2 with two long hairs, one very much longer than the other. Pleurites of segments 3, 4 and 5 with only minute spines, of segments 6, 7, 8 and 9 with two very elongate hairs. On the sternite of segment 1 in each anterior outside corner two straight bristles directed forwards. Sternites 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 with a patch of small hairs on each side. Sternite 8 with a number of minute scattered hairs over its broad surface. Sternite 9 with a trans- verse row of rather small hairs. Mouth-parts. —Mandibles : Inner condyle well developed, in the form of a rounded knob (fig. 7, a). Mazuillary palpus (fig. 7, 6): This appendage curves outwards laterally from the mouth-parts to the side of the head, beyond which it projects slightly. This position is brought about by the form of the two basal segments. Isopogometric apparatus : Anterior cornua of oesophageal sclerite with truncate tips. Two posterior projections present. The plate carries a fringe of delicate teeth. The basal pieces are parallel-sided, truncate in front and behind. Measurements of MENOPON ROBSONI, 9, in millimetres. A Length. Breadth. Head allt NS Ob: wd ae fan a 31 -56 Prothorax .. ba A “ oe oe 121 °38 Rest of Thorax .. a3 ie is Jf 52 “7 Abdomen .. se aie nee ait dg °75 or °65* 64 Total a 2 Sie sits cls 1:79 or 1:69 2°28 Length’ of legs. Ist 2nd 3rd Femur Be = 3 sa ae uu "183 21 “\S26 Tibia e bye Fs ie x at: -166 “22 24 Tarsus + claw .. bis ae sie BS °106 14 14 Total a 5x6 che ae oh, “455 57 63 Length of Segments of Antenna and Palpus of the Ist Maxilla. arene. ae 1 018 2 -004 3 | -030 ni 4 "048 - Total ae a i ace ae wt | ‘118 * According as one reckons from the real base of the first segment or from the edge of the meta-thoracic overlap. FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. tia Goniocotes waterstoni, sp. nov. (fig. 8). The specimens on which this description is based were presented to the British Museum in 1913 by the Hon. N. C. Rothschild and were collected by R. N. Atkinson in November 1912, on the penguin, Hudyptula minor, in the Furneaux Islands. G. waterstont stands nearest to G. bifascoatus, Piaget (3, p. 47), from Spheniscus demersus, with which, through the kindness of the Rev. James Waterston, I have been able to compare it. The present species differs in its shorter head, in the form of the male genitalia, and its antennae.: | External Form, Male-—Head: Preantennary margin perfectly rounded. Anten- nary sinus large, roofed in dorsally by transparent chitin. Its posterior corner is produced forwards into an angle with several small hairs on it. Immediately behind this angular projection at the side of the head is the eye, which carries a short spine. Antenna almost four-segmented, as the fifth segment is very small and partly fused with the fourth. The first segment is the largest, equal in length to half the length of the whole antenna, swollen. Temples with two angles, the rounded anterior one carried outwards so as to make the post-antennal area of the head almost as broad as the abdomen. The posterior angles are produced backwards on either side of the occiput so as to embrace the prothorax (fig. 8 a). The two occipital apodemes tapering and slightly convergent. Thorax: The prothorax is broad and short, the hind margin of the pronotum convex on the metanotum. The endo- skeleton shows, as usual, the two clavicles running upwards and forwards from the prosternal region to the anterior lateral corners. The upper part of each clavicle is slender and narrow, the lower part broadening out. The main difference between the prothoracic endo-skeleton and that in the other species here described is that the clavicles do not descend very appreciably from the anterior corner of the pronotum towards the prosternum. but abut against, without actually fusing with, two small rectangular plates lying within the rear part of the prothorax. These two small plates lie above and are apparently connected with two larger plates of irregular outline, representing perhaps the prosternite. These extend below the hind margin of the prosternum and their ends lie between the coxae of the second pair of legs ; each receives the inner end of two deep brown strongly chitinised bands or septa which run in along the ventral side between the pro- and meso-metathorax from the sides. Metathorax broader than the prothorax, each side running out into a pro- jection. Abdomen : Segments 8, spiracles 6. Pleurites with their internal free ends rounded. First pleurite narrower from left to right than the others, the external “beak ” being very small and partly fused with the next pleurite. Terminal segment extremely convex (as usual in GontopipAE). The genital chamber opens by a semi- circular slit upon the dorsal surface. External Form, Female.—Head : Antennary sinus not so large, its anterior and posterior angles being less pronounced. Antennae small. Segment 1 the largest, but much smaller than segment 1 in the g. Segment 5 more developed than it is in the g. Abdomen: Pleurites with the free internal ends truncate; terminal segment narrowest, rounded behind, but not convex as in the g. Genital opening on the lower side of the segment, situated far forward and in the form of a semi- circle with its concavity behind. The actual slit is directed backwards and lies 174 | BRUCE F. CUMMINGS. between dorsal and ventral lips, whereas in ‘he male the slit j is ieee dorsally and the lips are anterior and posterior. Chaetotaxy, Male-——Head: Anterior margin with numerous small minute hairs. Dorsal surface with many scattered minute denticles or short spiny hairs. At the anterior lateral angle, one long bristle, succeeded from behind forwards by a very short one, then a longer one and then another shorter one. Posterior lateral angle with one long bristle. Thorax: Along hind margin of pronotum two long hairs, one on each side. Lateral angles of metanotum with two or three long bristles and three or four short spines. Hind margin of metanotum with a row of bristles, the two outside ones being very long and reaching to the fourth abdominal segment. Abdomen : Many fairly long hairs on the dorsal surface occupying the median area. Pleurites bare, except at the external angles, where there are two fairly long bristles, and except for the hind margin of the last pleurite, which has a row of three or four long bristles. Two bristles on the dorsal surface of the last segment arising just over the base of each parameron, one on each side. On the ventral surface there is a single row of rather fine hairs on each of the first six segments. The first row lies between the hind coxae and consists of only four hairs. The sixth row is very convex, starting on each side on segment 6 and curving forward on to segment 5. Convex terminal margin of last segment with numerous long bristles. ~ Chaetotaxy, Female.—Head : Anterior lateral angles of the post-antennal area each with a small spine-like hair and three other spines still more minute. Abdomen : Hind margin of last segment with six long hairs, three on each side. The lower lip of the genital opening with the sides drawn out into a gonopod-like form, bearing numerous short hairs, which are however longer than the hairs along the central part of the lip. _ Mouth-parts (fig. 8, b).—Mandibles : As usual, very powerful and densely chitinous; articulation complex. first mazillae consisting of a single pair of lobes, one on each side of the mouth, without palpi. As in Gonrodes tetraonis (138) and in some others, these lobes are thin, flattened and atrophied, lying inside the mouth. In this species the lobes are bare of hairs, setae or hooks. Second mazillae: On the labium are the following structures :—(a) two relatively large columnar lobes with terminal spines, usually called paraglossae ; (6) between the paraglossae six hairs, three on each side, the two outside ones on each side carried each on a minute promi- nence ; (c) at the base of each paraglossa, lower down on the labium, a minute lobe, well chitinised, angular, bare, previously described by Shipley (13) in G. tetraonis. The paraglossae perhaps represent the labial palpi and the minute lobes (8b, OL) the outer lobes. O¢esephageal sclerite : The anterior cornu short and concave on the inner margin. Cushion, as usual in the GonropIDAE, well developed. A round “blob” of dark chitin is situated in the middle of its anterior margin. Male Copulatory Apparatus.—The figure (fig. 8 c) makes it possible to dispense with a great deal of description. The parts are rather complex and closely fitting. The lateral margins alone of the basal plate are strongly chitinised. The paramera are short and broad, broader at the distal than at the proximal end. The endomera lie next within the paramera and, though free distally, are fused with one another higher up ; but still higher up they become free again, the free ends being conspicu- FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. 175 ously situated on each side immediately on the inside of the lower part of the lateral margin of the basal plate. Within the endomera is a large, somewhat globular piece, probably consisting of the fused telomera. Distally and ventrally it is drawn out into two sharp processes separated by a deep incision. There is apparently no penis. Fig. 8. Goniocotes waterstoni, sp. nov. (a) Head and prothorax of ¢: CA, cephalic apodeme; CP, clavicle.—(b) Mouth-parts : B, tab; VL, upper lip; M, mandible; MX, maxillary lobe; OL, outer lobe of 2nd maxilla ; Pal., labial palpus; AC, anterior cornu of oesophageal sclerite; CC, chitinous chord ; BP, basal piece ; Oes. Sc!., oesophageal sclerite.—(c) Male copulatory apparatus: BP, basal plate; ML, lateral margin of basal plate; E, endomeron; P, parameron ; T, telomeron. 176 BRUCE F. CUMMINGS. Measurements of GONIOCOTES WATERSTONI i millimetres. 3 : 2 Length. Breadth. Length. Breadth. Head su jk m k 37 *52 4) "55 Prothorax ee o see 12 “28 114 “27 Metathorax oi x - 15 "428 “15 *428 Abdomen.. " = ff, a ag | ETN 67 Toto ee ea 1444 Length of Segments of é Q Antenna. 1 03 05 2 046 03 3 02 023 4 016 02 5 016 02 Total oi ve a 131 146 3 & Length of legs. Ist 2nd 3rd Ist 2nd 3rd Deuter eee us Pa Re ‘13° | yea ‘114 | “Ila |) ape Tibia + tarsus + claw .. ..| °156 16 17 03 03 -128 Totar o 3 a ..| °276 -29 31. “147 147 256 I have to thank the Rev. James Waterston, B.D., B.Sc., of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, for much kind assistance during the preparation of this paper. References. (1) Lucas, H. Annales de la Société entomologique de France, (2) x, p. 529, pl. xi, fig. 2. | | (2) Neumann, L.-G. Archives de Parasitologie, xiii, April 1910, p. 497. (3) Piaget, EH. Les Pediculines, Supplement, 1885, Leide, p. 146. (4) Rudow. Zeit. f. d. ges. Naturw, xxxiv, p. 167. (5) Cummings, B. F. (a) Bull. Ent. Res. iv, May, 1913, p. 45. (6) Ann. Mag. Nat. His. (8) xu, Sept. 1913, p. 266. : (6) Mjoberg, HE. Arkiv. for Zoologi, vi, 1910, p. 166. (7) Enderlein, G. Zool. Anz. xxviii, 1905, p. 626. FIVE NEW SPECIES OF ANOPLURA AND MALLOPHAGA. 177 (8) Waterston, J. Annals of the South African Museum, x, pt. 9, p. 271. (9) Kellogg, V. L. and Nakayama, 8. Entomological News, xxv, May 1914, p. 193. (10) Armenante, E. Boll. della Soc. di Naturalisti in Napoli, xxiv (ser. 2, vol. iv), 1910, p. 76. (11) Carriker. Univ. Studies, Nebraska, iti, 1903, p. 173. (12) Kelloge, V. L. Sjéstedt’s Zoologische Kilimandjaro-Meru Exp. 1905-6, ili, pts. 15-22, p. 50, pl. vii, fig. 7. (13) Shipley, A. E. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1909, p. 310. (C 53) — cx 2 tt fae amb a ti ‘4% Wi (Ts 7 4 iM \ 5 r 7 z=. i . | { s } a“ >. Bel te Fe! Hiv ae} i t ad . f { a oe paul ite neta mete ~ i * ’ ; 4 ss se A bw aati o P eee io peecnen inertness Por nmenmn immense 179 NOTES ON PHLEBOTOMUS, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES, Part II. By Prorsssor R. Newsreap, F.R.S., The Inverpool School of Tropical Medicine. In this paper four new species of Phlebotomus are described, three from Africa and one from the Malay States, and the differential characters and affinities of seven other known species are described and illustrated. Three specimens, including one of P. minutus, Rond., and two of P. papatasw (Scop.), have been observed to possess super- numerary spines on the superior claspers: a remarkable and apparently hitherto unrecorded phenomenon in this genus. In several instances fresh data are given as to the geographical distribution of these insects, and an endeavour has been made to clear up some confusion with regard to certain closely allied species. The major portion of the material has been supplied by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, through the Director, Mr. Guy A. K. Marshall, to whom I express my grateful thanks. I beg also to acknowledge my indebtedness to Drs. EH. Sergent and E. Roubaud, of the Pasteur Institute, Paris; to Captain Marett and Drs. M. H. Babington, A. Ingram, A. T. Stanton and F. D. Walker, and Mr. G. Bedford for the interesting material which they have been pleased to submit to me from time to time. As our studies of these minute and obscure insects has advanced, the more difficult and serious have the problems concerning the exact elucidation of the specific taxo- nomic characters become. This is due in a large measure to the apparently great range of variation which exists in the antennal and palpal formulae, and also the wing venation ; more especially so is this the case in that group of which P. minutus may be taken as a type. Pairs taken in coitu are much needed for microscopical study, as at present the females, at least, are distinguishable only with great difficulty and minute examination. To the student of this group of insects I would venture to call attention to the inexpediency of relying solely on one set of characters, such as the antennae, the palpi or the wings ; and in some instances the male genital armature also. All the factors must be taken into consideration by the systematist. I would appeal also to those who deal with the taxonomy of these small midges to supplement their papers with carefully prepared drawings, as in the absence of these it is often impossible to deter- mine a species with accuracy. (C53) F2 180 PROFESSOR R. NEWSTEAD, F.B.S. Phiebotomus ingrami, sp. nov. (fig. 1). §.—Length, 2:2 mm ; wing, 15 mm ; front leg, 2:2 mm; hind leg, 2°8 mm. A relatively small species, the distinguishing features of which are the densely packed group of long stiff bristles at the end of the inferior claspers and the two pairs of widely separated spines on the superior claspers. Fig. 1. Phlebotomus ingrami, sp.n., 3; a, genital armature, X 150; b, distal portion of inferior clasper, x 225. Antennae composed of long slender segments similar to those of P. simillimus, but the third segment is relatively shorter and barely reaches to the tip of the proboscis. Palpi relatively stout, 2nd segment about half the length of the fourth. Wings narrowly lanceolate ; tip of lst longitudinal vein overlapping the anterior branch of the second vein by a little more than one-third its total length. Legs densely clothed with narrowly lanceolate scales ; ungues simple and near them, on the tarsus, three pairs of spines, the ventral pair minute ; the subventral pair about half the length of the lateral ones. External genital armature (fig. 1, a)-relatively small compared with the width of the abdomen ; terminal segment of the superior claspers with two pairs of widely separated spathuliform spines ; inferior claspers (fig. 1, 6) with a densely packed group of long stiff bristles ; there are 5 of these on one of the appen- dages and 7 or 8 on the other, possibly one or more may have been broken away from the former in preparing the specimen for microscopical examination. . I cannot unfortunately give any details regarding the general arrangement of the hairs on the body, as the specimens were mounted in Canada balsam before they were seen to differ in any marked degree from P. minutus var. africanus, Newst., with which they were associated. I have pleasure in dedicating this very distinct species to — its discoverer. , NorTHERN ASHANTI: Kintampo, ¢ (type), in latrine, vu. 1913 ; Banda, 1 J, in rest house, 24. ix. 13 (Dr. A. Ingram). Phiebotomus simillimus, sp. nov. (fig. 2). g.—Length, 2°6-2°7 mm; wing, 15-16 mm. 9.—Length, 2°6-2°8 mm; wing, 18 mm. NOTES ON PHLEBOTOMUS. 181 Very like P, minutus var. africanus, Newst., but both sexes may be distinguished at once by the great length of the 3rd segment of the antennae, which, in the J, is twice the length of the proboscis proper (7.e., exclusive of the clypeus), the distal portion of which projects beyond the tip of the latter. The wings in both sexes are broader than they are in africanus, and less pointed, the tip of the first longi- tudinal vein also extends much further forward, overlapping the anterior branch of the second vein by about half its length ; generally both sexes are also much Tee and the females decidedly darker. Fig. 2. Phlebotomus simillimus, sp.n.; a, proximal portion of antenna of 3; b, the same of 9, X 150; c, wing of 2, X 39. P. minutus, Rond.; d, line giving relative length of 3rd segment of antenna of 3; e, the same of 9, x 150. P. minutus var. africanus, Newst. ; /, line ee relative length of 3rd segment of antenna of J ; g, the same of two forms of e150: g.—Similar in colour to P. papatasw. Abdominal hairs recumbent. Genital armature not differing structurally from that of P. minutus, Rond., but larger ; the proximal segment of the superior claspers being about equal in length to both the segments of the corresponding appendages in P. minutus. The lower or inferior clasper projecting beyond the submedian process to a distance a little less than one- fourth its total length. Antennae (fig. 2, a) with the first 3 segments together equal in length to the head, inclusive of the proboscis ; the 3rd segment very long, with the distal portion projecting beyond the proboscis. Wings (fig. 2, c) relatively broad ; costa and hind margin very similar in curvature ; tip of 1st longitudinal vein extending forwards, so that it overlaps the anterior branch of the 2nd vein by about half its ength. ©.—Generally darker in colour than the male. Antennae with the 3rd segment (fig. 2, 6) very long, but relatively much shorter than that of the 3; the extremity scarcely reaching to the tip of the proboscis ; geniculated spines present on the 4th to 15th segments inclusive. Wing similar to that of the ¢. NorTHERN AsHANTI: Kintampo, 5 $¢,9 29 (including type of each sex), all taken in latrines, vii. 1913; Nkoranza, 3 99, on walls of rest-house in damp comers, 182 PROFESSOR R. NEWSTEAD, F.R.S. 17. viii. 13 and 1 9,17. x1.13; Sekodumasse, 2 99, on wall of rest-house, 15. xi. 13 (all Dr. Ingram). In addition to the foregoing, there were 9 99 from Kintampo and 5 9° from N’Koranza, which have not been prepared for critical microscopical examination ; so far as one can judge from the dry material they all belong “pp to this species. SourHerN Nicerta: Alumu, 18—24, iv, 14 (Dr. W. A. Lamborn). Several additional examples labelled, “ Southern Nigeria,” were also collected by Dr. Lamborn. Phiebotomus mascittii, Grassi (figs. 3, 4, 5, 6). Phlebotomus mascittit, Grassi, Att. Reale Accad. Lincei (v) xvii, p. 68, 1908. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Ashworth for procuring for me a male example of P. mascittii from Professor Grassi. This has enabled me to make a detailed exami- nation of all those characteristics which are of taxonomic importance, and to give figures of the genital armature and other structures which are so much needed for comparison and reference. I now find that this and P. perniciosus, Newst., are so closely allied as to be separable only with difficulty. The differential characters in these two insects are set forth in the following table :— P. mascitin 3g P. pernciosus 3 Length oe ihe .. oO mm. 1:8—2°6 mm. Superior claspers .. .. With 5largeand1small With 5 large spines only. 7 spine. Upper branch of 2nd vein .. 23 times aslong as vein _14 times as long as vein between the forks. between the forks. No. of examples examined 1. 16. Grassi (I.c.) states that there are 5 spines present on the distal articulation of the superior claspers (gonapofisz), two of which at the distal extremity are nearly as long as the segment of the clasper to which they are attached. In the mounted example from Professor Grassi’s collection, which I take to be typical of the species and from which the accompanying drawing (fig. 3) was made, there was clearly an additional Fig. 3. Phlebotomus mascitiii, Grassi; genital armature of 3, | 16. spine (making 6 in all), which he does not mention in his diagnosis. The spine in question arises on the ventral surface a little posterior to the inner lateral pair of spines ; but it is much smaller and finer than the rest. In the enlarged drawing (fig. 6, a) this spine is shown in dotted line, as, owing to an unfortunate accident, NOTES ON PHLEBOTOMUS. 183 the whole preparation had to be remounted, and in doing this the small spines broke away, though the points of attachment are still very clearly defined on both the claspers. The wing venation (fig. 5, a) is, if constant in a series, strikingly different from that of P. perniciosus (fig. 5, 6), and may in itself serve to distinguish it from the latter. As to the antennae (fig. 4, a, b) there is a marked difference in the relative length of the 3rd segment in the two species, but when compared with the length of the segments of the palpi or with that of the proboscis both species give the same relative index. Phiebotomus perniciosus, Newst. (figs. 4, 5, 6). Phlebotomus perniciosus, Newst., Bull. Ent. Res., ii, p. 70, 1911. Phlebotomus legeri, Mansion, Bull. Soc. Path., vi, p. 639, fig., 1913. Fig. 4. Phlebotomus mascittii, Grassi; a, proximal portion of antenna of dg, Xx 156. P. perniciosus, Newst.; b, the same; the line below indicates the length of the 3rd segment in an exceptionally small example from Malta. a -_ - De ad - - oor - ee Sie eon --- e - hag -- Fig. 5. Phlebotomus mascittii, Grassi; a, wing of gf, X 39. Phlebotomus perniciosus, Newst.; b, wing of g, xX 39. In the male genital armature the arrangement of the spines on the superior claspers (fig. 6, 6, c, d) is often very difficult of interpretation ; more especially is this the case when the segments to which they are attached are superimposed, the picture presented 184 PROFESSOR R. NEWSTEAD, F.RB.S. in such cases being a confused bundle of spines arising from various planes. With careful manipulation, however, the superior claspers may be so displayed that the exact arrangement of the spines can be followed with little difficulty. Three distinct phases may be presented : a dorso-ventral view (fig. 6, 6) with the pronounced lateral spine-bearing processes ; an outer-lateral view (fig. 6, c), and an inner-lateral view Fig. 6. Phlebotomus mascittii, 3 ; a, ventral view of distal segment of superior clasper, x 150. P. perniciosus, 3; b, distal segment of superior clasper, ventral view: c, the same, outer lateral view; d, inner lateral view; all x 150. (fig. 6, d). Compare also fig. 17 in the volume of this Bulletin quoted above. Refe- rence has already been made to the length of the 3rd segment of the antennae, and a drawing to the same scale as that of P. mascitti is given (fig. 4, 6); this segment exhibits a slight variation in length, the range in 16 examples amounting approxi- mately to ‘075 mm. | As to the synonymy, Mansion’s P. legeri is clearly the same as P. permiciosus, Newst. His excellent figure and clear description leaves one in no doubt as to this, so that the former name must sink. The following record regarding the geographical distribution of this species is of interest :— ALBANIA : Scutari (British Detachment), 1 9, 21. vii. 13 (Dr. M. H. Babington). Dr. Babington, in a communication which accompanied the specimen, states that “ these insects occur in small numbers ”’ and further that ‘‘ we have had a fair amount — of fever, which in Malta we attribute to the bites of sand-flies.” Phiebotomus perniciosus var. nigerrimus, Newst. Phlebotomus nigerrimus, Newst., Bull. Ent. Res., 11, p. 68, 1911. Since publishing the description of P. nigerrimus I have, thanks to Captain Marett, been able to examine several males, all captured by him in Malta. As the taxonomic characters of these agree with those of P. perniciosus, Newst., I have come to the ~ conclusion that the former can only rank as a good melanic variety. There is apparently some slight difference in the venation of the wing of the 9 var. nigerrimus (compare fig. 5, loc. cit.), which may also [serve to distinguish it from typical P. perniciosus. NOTES ON PHLEBOTOMUS. 185 Phiebotomus minutus, Rondani. Male with abnormal genital armature (fig. 7). Left superior clasper normal, Fig. 7. Phlebotomus minutus, Rond., 3 genital armature ; a, Superior clasper, with supernumary spines, x 225. right superior clasper (fig. 7, a) with three pairs of strong spines; two pairs apical, one sub-apical ; the additional spines occupy a superior position and are much more pointed than the others. This is the most singular case of exces- sive development of the small parts of the genital armature that I have yet seen, and had the additional spines occurred on both claspers I should have unhesitatingly described the insect under a new name. Tunis : Metlavui, 1913 (Dr. EZ. Roubaud), together with typical ern of both, sexes. Phiebotomus minutus, var. africanus, Newst. NorTHERN ASHANTI: Kintampo, 9 gg, 2 29, in latrine, vu. 1913; Bjere, Volta River, 1 ¢, 1 9, in rest-house, 12. ix. 13; Banda, 4 gg, 2 99, 24. ix. 13; Atabubu, 5 gg, in rest-house, 15. x. 13; N’Koranza, 4 99, on walls of rest-house, 6 gg, “on unwhitewashed corner of room,” 17. xi. 13; Sekodumasse, 3 ¢3, on walls of rest- house, 15. xi. 13 (all Dr. A. Ingram). The following additional records are based upon an examination of the dry material, so that the exact specific identity of these must be regarded with a measure of doubt :— Kintampo, 8 33,19; Banda, 19; Atabubu, 3 99; N’Koranza, 24 examples represent- ing both sexes, many of them imperfect. In addition to the foregoing there are four examples from Kintampo (1 3, 3 99) and one 9 from Atabubu which are, so far as one can judge at present, referable to this species, but all of them possess such remarkably short 3rd antennal segments as compared with typical P. minutus var. africanus that I think it desirable to. call attention to the fact, though it should be noted that in this respect they do not differ from typical P. minutus, Rond., from Malta. SOUTHERN Niceria: Ibadan, 1 9, 20-21. viii. 13, 1 g, 2. x. 18, 8 29, 5. iv. 14; Olumu, 1 3g, 20. iv. 14 (Dr..W. A. Lamborn). © Iseyin, 60 m. N.W. of Ibadan, 4 29, 7. xi. 12 (Dr. W. S. Clark) ; these Dr. Clark informs me were “ taken in a rest-house which was rather badly infested with these insects. Many were seen to be resting on the surface of the mud walls, in dark corners, and also under a table.” Ivory Coast :: Bingerville, on a lizard, Agama colonorum,1 3, 6. xii. 12 (Dr. E. Roubaud). | NYASALAND : Mwanza River, Lower Shire, 4 99, 5. vii. 13 (S. A. Neave) ; only one example has a perfect antenna, but judging from the pointed wings and small size 186 PROFESSOR R. NEWSTEAD, F.R.S. all belong, I believe, to this species. The dark colour of the specimens is an artifact produced by an accumulation of fine pulverulent dirt. §.W. of Lake Chilwa, Lower Shire, 3 99, 12.1. 14 (S. A. Neave). PortTuGuESE HE. Arrica: Kast of Mount Mlanje, 2500 ft., 4 99,1 ¢,5. x. 13; 4 99, 2 §g, 23-25. x1. 13 (S. A. Neave). TRANSVAAL : Onderstepoort, near Pretoria, 1 J, 6 99, on walls of bathroom, labora- tory and latrine, during the months of April to September, 1912-13 (G. Bedford). ANGLO-Heypt1an SupAN: Tokar, Red Sea Province, 9 gg, 8 99, 1913 (HA. A. Kung). Aucertia : Biskra, 1 g, 4 99, 1913 (Dr. E. Sergent). Phiebotomus antennatus, Newst. ©.—Body hairs dull amber-coloured, those on the head and thorax erect, on the abdomen recumbent. Hairs on the wing area bright pale buff to golden buff ; costal hairs similar, with black ones intermixed. | a _ NortuEern AsHantI : Kintampo, 8 99, in latrines, viii. 1913 (Dr. A. Ingram). Phiebotomus papatasii (Scop.). Males with abnormal genitalia. I have examined two examples : one from Rawul Pindi (ex coll. Dr. J. H. Ashworth), the other from Malta (Capt. P. J. Marett). In both of these examples a supernumerary spine was present on one of the inferior claspers. In typical individuals of this species only two flattened, spathuliform spines arise from the distal extremity of the inferior claspers ; so that examples with such supernumerary appendages as those herein recorded can only be regarded as abnor- - malities. Tunis : Metlavui, 1 g, 2 29, x, 13 (Dr. EF. Roubaud). ALGERIA : Biskra, 2 99, 1913 (Dr. H. Sergent). ANGLO-E@yptT1aAN SupAN: Tokar, Red Sea Province, 9 gg, 7 99, 1913 (H. H. Kinq). | 7 Phiebotomus roubaudi, Newst. (fig. 8). Fig. 8. Phlebotomus roubaudi, Newst., 3 ; a, genital armature, x 52; b, distal segment of superior clasper; c. median fringed process ; d, d,, arrangement of spines on the inferior clasper, x 300. NOTES ON PHLEBOTOMUS—-NEW SPECIES. 187 Phlebotomus roubaudi, Newst., Bull. Soc. Path. Exot., vi, pp. 124-126, 1913. I have recently secured another male of this species, unfortunately without data, but as it agrees in all the structural details with the type, now in the Pasteur Institute, Paris, I have added a few more details and a figure of the armature, so that its differen- tial characters may be more easily followed. On comparing the illustration of the armature of this species (fig. 8) with that of P. papatasw,* the marked morphological differences which exist between these two species will be readily seen. The male genital armature is relatively large and in general outline similar to that of P. papa- tasit (Scop.) ; distal segment of superior claspers (fig. 8, b) with 5 spines, 3 at the distal extremity and 2 widely separated from them and also from each other ; the former are markedly unequal in length and two of them are broadly dilated and flattened distally, more especially the central one. Inferior claspers (fig. 8, d;) a little more than half the length of the proximal segment of the superior claspers, apex with 4-5 short stout spines (5 is apparently the normal number) ; these when viewed dorso- ventrally are seen to be spathuliform, but in profile they appear pointed and simple. Median fringed process (fig. 8, c) very small and about one-third the total length of the inferior claspers. Thus the armature presents four well-marked charac- ters by means of which it may be distinguished at once from P. papatasi; these are set forth in the following table :-— P. roubauds, ¢. P. papatasn, 3. Distal spines on be ey Three; one about twice aa Three ; all of nearly equal claspers . length of the others length. Slightly over one-half the Three-fourths the length of Inferior claspers .. length of the proximal the proximal segment of segment of the superior the superior claspers, claspers, approximately approximately. a nee SS - ep Four to five ede as Two. vy h ice the length Submedian fringed process Scarcely longer than the Rene. eh en ®, ane ‘ : of the median paired (fig. 8, c) : tes | median paired process. process. Roubaud’s example (type 3) came from Akjoucht, in Mauretania, French West Africa. Phiebotomus zeylanicus, Annandale (fig. 9). °.—Abdominal hairs, with the exception of those on the proximal segment, recum- bent. Abdominal hairs ochraceous grey ; those on the head and thorax slightly paler and many with infuscated tips. Wings hyaline; fringe of costa either pale grey (2 29) and scarcely darker than the hairs on the veins, or infuscated (1 9) and much darker than the rest; fringe behind margin pale silvery grey to dusky grey ; anterior branch of the 2nd vein, in 2 99, about two and one-third times the length of the space between the forks. Palpi (fig. 9, a) of 5 segments; the 2nd slightly shorter than either the 3rd or 4th ; 5th longer than the two preceding together. Antennae (fig. 9, 6) with the 3rd segment equal in length to the first three segments of the palpi ; segments 3-15, inclusive, each with a pair of geniculated spines, and there are also indications of similar spines on the terminal segment. * Bull. Ent. Res., ii, p. 74, fig. 18. 188 PROFESSOR R. NEWSTEAD, F.R.S. Cryton : Peradeniya, 3 99, 30. iv. 14 (A. Rutherford). If the foregoing description of the wing is compared with that given by Annandale* it will be seen that there are marked differences regarding the relative length of the anterior branch of the second long vein. Annandale describes this as being “ nearly five times as long as the distance between the two forks,” though in his illustration (fig. 5) the vein in question is shown as being only slightly more than three times the length of the distance between the two forks. In a later communication (§), however, he makes the following statement: “It should ..... be noted that the figure of P. zeylanicus printed in my former paper (p. 60, fig. 4) gives, because of the angle at which the wing was drawn, a somewhat incorrect idea of the venation in that species ; fig. 5 on the same page is more exact in this respect.”’ This is somewhat difficult of interpretation, as it leaves one still in doubt as to whether we are to consider his diagnosis as correct or his illustration (fig. 5) ; for the present both must be accepted as indicating exceptional variation in the wing venation. I have ventured to call attention to this because I find, as already stated, that in the examples collected Fig. 9. Phlebotomus zeylanicus, Ann., 9; b, proximal portion of antenna, < 300; a, 1st to 4th segments of palpus, x 300. by Mr. Rutherford the anterior branch of the second vein is only two and one-third times the length of the space between the forks. In other respects the venation agrees, especially in regard to the position of the tip of the first longitudinal vein, which is, as Annandale states, far in advance of the anterior branch of the second. P. malabaricus, Annandale, presents a similar wing venation to that of P. zeylanicus, ‘but on the whole my examples agree best with the latter. There the matter must stand until more material is available. Pairs in coitu are much needed, and I sincerely trust that Mr. Rutherford will be successful in securing these. - Phliebotomus longipalpis, Lutz & Neiva (fig. 10). Bottvia-Brazit Bounpary: Abuna River, ¢¢ and 99, 1913 (Dr. F. D. Walker). So far as I can possibly ascertain at the moment there is a measure of doubt as to whether the specimens recorded above are specifically identical with Phlebotomus longipalpis described by Lutz & Neiva.t Finding it impossible to determine Dr. Walker’s material from the author’s description alone, I submitted an example of the male to Dr. Lutz (carefully prepared for microscopical examination). In his reply * Spolia Zeylanica, vii, p. 60, 1910. § Ibid., xxvill, p. 203, 1911. { Mem. Inst. Oswal. Cruz, iv, p. 90, 1912. NOTES ON PHLEBOTOMUS. 189 he states : “I received and examined your Phlebotomus. It is certainly of the type of longipalpis, though I seemed to notice some little differences by comparing another | male in microscopical preparation. Those, however, might be due to accidents in Fig. 10. Phlebotomus longipalpis, Lutz & Neiva ; a, 13th and 14th segments of antenna of 9, X 225; b, genital armature of 3, x 75; b;, ventral groups of spinose hairs; c, outer lateral; d, inner lateral; e, ventral aspect of inferior claspers, x 150; ¢,, proximal portion of e, showing group of hair attach- ments. position and preparation. The place where it was found speaks also for it, as longi- palpis has a very wide range. It certainly is not the species of Sophia Summers, nor a larger undescribed one I brought from Southern Brazil, which has the antennae of the same type as longipalpis. The new species from Trinidad and Peru..... described by Knab and Townsend have the same type of antennae, but seem to be different, though I do not feel sure about it ..... The feet seem rather heavily scaled in your specimens.” This leaves one still in doubt as to the specific identity of Dr. Walker’s material, the outstanding features of which are so strikingly charac- teristic that I fail to understand how it was that Dr. Lutz was unable to determine definitely the specimen submitted to him. In view, therefore, of the slight discrepan- cies which Lutz has observed, and also that there exist in my specimens certain taxonomic characters which have, apparently, been overlooked, it may be desirable to call attention to these, so that in future the insect may be determined the more readily. °.—Antennae of 16 segments, the 3rd relatively very short ; 5th reaching to the tip of the proboscis ; 3rd and 4th together a little longer than the 5th segment of the palpi ; geniculated spines present on the 3rd to the 15th, inclusive ; those on the 11th-15th (fig. 10, a) of great length, the tips reaching to the articulation of the succeeding segment and in some instances slightly beyond ; the length of the spines on the other segments not determinable in my preparations, but all of them appear to be unusually long, differing markedly in this respect from those observed in the African and European species. Legs densely scaled, the individual scales long and narrowly lanceolate. 190 PROFESSOR R. NEWSTEAD. F.R.S. g.—3rd segment of the antennae slightly longer than the corresponding segment in the 9; 4th segment reaching just beyond the tip of the proboscis ; distal extremities of the geniculated spines on the 3rd-15th segments, inclusive, reaching to or just beyond the articulation of the succeeding segment. Genital armature (fig. 10, 6): inferior claspers or appendages longer than the basal segment of the superior claspers ; the latter (fig. 10, c, d, e) with 4 unequal spathuliform or oar-shaped spines, the three distal ones distinctly separated (e) and the terminal one the longest; the 4th, about equal in length to the distal one, arises a little proximal to the centre of the segment ; a single fine short bristle is placed slightly dorsal to the distal spine ; this rarely breaks away, as do the hairs which clothe the segment ; figure 10 (c, d, e) shows three different views of the anterior segment of the superior claspers, the outer lateral, the inner lateral and the ventral, respectively. There is a well-marked group of cicatrices at the base of the segment (fig. 10, e,), but the spines or hairs are invariably broken away in my material. Basal segment of the superior claspers with a densely packed, linear group of fine hairs or bristles (fig. 10 61). Thus it will be seen there are several well marked characters. The short 3rd antennal segment in both sexes ; the long and strikingly characteristic geniculated spines (a); the well-marked group of fine spinose hairs (6;) on the basal segment of the superior claspers ; the arrangement of the large spines on the distal segments of the superior claspers and the presence of the fine terminal bristle ; and the well- marked group of cicatrices (e;). The palpal formula is as Lutx & Neiva describe it in their P. rasa eee If the specimens herein described should eventually prove to be new I would suggest the name walkeri in honour of the discoverer. Phiebotomus stantoni, sp. nov. (fig. 11). Q.—Length,2°1mm. Wing, 1‘9 mm. ¢.—Unknown. Fig. 11. Phlebotomus stantoni, sp.n., 2 ; a, distal portion of tarsus, X 225; b, two segments of the antenna, X 225; c, proximal portion of antenna; «, verticel of hair-like scales, X 150; d, palpus, x "150. A medium-sized ee distinguishable by the silvery grey, recumbent hairs on the venter of the abdomen ; in the palpi, by the unusually short 4th segment, and NOTES ON PHLEBOTOMUS. 191 the relatively short terminal segment; by the verticel of long hair-like scales on the 2nd segment of the antennae ; and also by the scales on the tarsi being arranged in broad, distinct bands. Abdominal hairs more or less erect dorsally, and arranged in indefinite tufts ; those on the venter recumbent and silvery grey, standing out in marked contrast to those on the dorsum, which are faintly infuscated. Legs: tarsi clothed with dull silvery scales arranged in complete and well defined bands or zones; when mounted in balsam and examined in optical section the arrangement of the scales (fig. 11, a)* is seen to be strikingly characteristic, but it is curious to note that the integument in the inter-zonal spaces is covered with cicatrices, though there is no trace of either scales or hairs arising from any of them. Antennae with geniculated spines on all the segments of the flagellum, with the exception of the terminal one, ?.e., 3rd-15th inclusive ; these for the most part at least are of great length (fig. 11, 6), the tips reaching nearly to the bases of the spines on the succeeding segment ; 2nd segment (scape) with a single verticel of long stout hair-like scales (fig. 11, c,) ; 3rd segment (fig. 11, c) long, the tip reaching almost to the tip of the proboscis ; hairs relatively long and stout, and the smaller segments of the flagella rather densely clothed with them ; sensoria on terminal segments with a few rather conspicuous hairs. Palpi (fig. 11, d) rather short and slender ; 3rd and 5th segments the longest and about equal in length ; 4th unusually short, being a little more than half the length of the 2nd ; formula, 1, 4, 2 (3, 5). Wings with the Ist longitudinal vein terminating well in advance of the anterior branch of the 2nd ; anterior branch of the 2nd longitudinal vein one and a half times as long as the distance between the two forks; no further particulars can be given, as the margins of both wings are crumpled. FEDERATED Matay States: Kuala Lumpur, 1 9 (type), 15. vi. 14 (Dr. A. T. Stanton). Phiebotomus bedfordi, sp. nov. (fig. 12). 0.—Length, 3 mm.; wing, 1°9 mm. ¢.—Unknown. A fairly large and somewhat robust species, very closely resembling a large example of P. minutus var. africanus, Newst., but separable from the latter and also from all the other known African species by the short terminal segment of the palpi (fig. 12, aa). Colour as in P. minutus var. africanus. Abdominal hairs, with the exception of those on the proximal segment, recumbent both dorsally and ventrally. Antennae: 3rd segment relatively very short and about one and two-thirds the length of the 4th, the tip of the latter reaching to the end of the proboscis ; the paired geniculated spines present on the 3rd to the 15th segments inclusive, those on the 14th and 15th extending to or just beyond the articulation of the succeeding segments ; those on the lower segments, so far as they are traceable, do not reach the articulations by a relatively considerable distance, so that their form and arrangement are very similar to those found on the other members of the genus elsewhere in Africa ; all the segments * Marginal scales only shown. 192 PROFESSOR R. NEWSTEAD, F.R.S.—NOTES ON PHLEBOTOMUS. with numerous, fine, short outstanding hairs. Palpi (fig. 12, a a) with the 4th and 5th segments about equal in length, they are a'so much the longest, but the 5th is com- paratively speaking unusually short ; the 3rd slightly incrassate proximally ; formula 1, 2, 3 (4, 5). Wings (fig. 12, 6) lanceolate and relatively narrow ; 1st longitudinal Fig. 12. Phlebotomus bedfordi, sp.n., 2; aa, palpi, X 150; b, wing, x 39. vein terminating considerably in advance of the anterior branch of the 2nd ; upper branch of the 2nd longitudinal vein shorter than the distance between the two forks, the latter being about one and one-third times the length of the former. TRANSVAAL: Onderstepoort, near Pretoria, 1 Q (éype), in latrine, 2. vi. 12 (G. Bedford). 193 A NOTE ON PSEUDAONIDIA FOSSOR, NEWST. By A. RUTHERFORD, Government Entomologist, Ceylon. In January 1912, the writer collected in Trinidad, B.W.I., what is in all probability Pseudaonsdia fossor, Newst. (Bull. Ent. Research, iv, p. 308, 1914). The insects occurred on the twigs of a plant that has been determined as Ficus comosa. The leaves of the same plant were heavily infested on the under surface by what is probably Asydiotus personatus, Comst. My specimens of P. fossor show some differences from Newstead’s material, the most important of which is that in this case the adult insect is not fossonal. The scales stand up in small groups on the twigs. Otherwise Newstead’s description applies quite closely to my insect. In the specimens before me there are from five to seven gland-pores connected with the anterior spiracles, while similar pores seem to be absent from the posterior spiracles. The pygidia agree closely. The paraphyses, however, are much more distinct than they are represented in Newstead’s figure, and between the second and third lobes there is a conspicuous broad plate laterad of the setae, and there are one or two similar plates laterad of the median lobes. These plates are very easily broken off. The median lobes project on their mesal side into the pygidium for a short distance. The following additional notes may be of interest : The anal orifice is narrow and is surrounded by an area more heavily chitinised than is the pygidium as a whole. The unborn young possess a distinct pair of lobes, each bearing a resemblance to an extended hand. There are two deep notches on the mesal and three on the lateral obliquity near the apex of the lobe. The pygidium is distinctly reticulated and a distinct chitinous ring surrounds the anus, which is close to the apex of the abdomen. The young individuals are certainly fossorial, the scale being covered by a thin layer of bark. The scale of the adult insect, however, is not conspicuous, and bears no resemblance in this respect to Howardia biclavis, Comst., with which Newstead compares his specimens. His material was from a different plant (grape vine), and perhaps this accounts for the difference ; but I have never seen Howardia biclavis thus influenced by its host plant. (C53) G 194 COLLECTIONS RECEIVED. The thanks of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology are due to the following gentle- men, who have kindly presented collections of insects (received between January lst and March 31st, 1914) :— Dr. W. M. Aders :—1 Culicid, 7 Haematopota, 1 Ceratitis, 3 other Diptera, 2 Hyme- noptera, 17 Coleoptera, 2 larvae and 2 pupae, 5 Lepidoptera, 2 Anoplura,6 species of Coccidae and a number of Aphididae ; from Zanzibar. - Mr. T. J. Anderson, Government Entomologist :—341 Culicidae and a number of larvae, about 120 minute Diptera, 8 species of Coccidae, about 1,150 Aphididae, 4 Ticks and 6 Mites ; from British E. Africa. | Mr. H. Ballard, Government Entomologist :—25 Trypetidae and 20 Moths ; from Coimbatore, Madras. . Dr. F. J. A. Beringer, Medical Officer of Health :—45 Culicidae, 67 Siphonaptera, and 9 Hymenoptera ; from the Gold Coast. Mr. G. E. Bodkin, Government Biologist :—14 Diptera, 778 Hymenoptera, 53 Coleoptera, 2 Lepidoptera, 2 Planipennia, 24 Mallophaga, 6 species of Coccidae, 5 other Rhynchota, 13 Orthoptera, 12 Ephemeridae, 6 Ticks, 8 Chelifers, 3 Scorpions, 6 Millipedes, and a tube containing Intestinal Worms ; from British Guiana.. Mr. E. B. Connell :—70 Hymenoptera ; from Trinidad. _ Division of Entomology, Union of South Africa :—1 Oestrid larva, 133 Coleoptera and 3 Orthoptera ; from the Transvaal. Dr. Mercier Gamble :—19 Diptera, 3 Lepidopterous pupa cases, 323 Ticks, and 1 tube containing Linguatulids ; from the Congo. _ Dr. Lewis H. Gough, Government Entomologist :—49 Diptera, 110 Hymenoptera, 2 Prodenia litura, 4 larvae and 1 pupa, 22 other Lepidoptera, 3 Myrmeleonidae, 1 Termite, 26 Rhynchota, 9 Orthoptera and 23 Mollusca ; from Cairo. © Mr. C. C. Gowdey, Government Entomologist :—1 Haematopota, 80 Hymenoptera, 158 Coleoptera, 2 Lepidoptera, 25 Isoptera, 2 Mallophaga, 30 Thysanoptera, 1 species of Coccidae, 1 tube containing Aphididae, 95 other Rhynchota, 57 Orthoptera, and 16 Ticks ; from Entebbe, Uganda. Mr. G. F. Hill, Government Entomologist :—30 Phlebotomus, 144 other Diptera and 3 pupa cases, 7 Siphonaptera, 510 Hymenoptera, 83 Coleoptera, and 30 larvae and pupae, 10 Odonata, 6 Cimicidae, a number of Aphididae, 39 other Rhynchota, 3 Orthoptera, 2 Thysanura, 2 Centipedes, 1 Millipede, 1 Scorpion, 2 Pseudoscorpions — and 3 Spiders ; from N. Territory, Australia. Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies :—4 Longicorn beetles, 5 larvae and | pupa; from the West Indies. } Dr. A. Ingram, W.A.M.S. :—About 60 Phlebotomus, 116 Culicidae, 6 Hippocen- trum, 7 Haematopota, 27 Tabanus, 172 Glossina, 2 Stomozys, 1 Ht uppobosca, 3 other — Diptera, 10 Orthoptera ; from the Gold Coast. Mr. H. H. King, Government Entomologist :—4 Chrysops, 4 Muscidae, 1 Oestrid, 2 Curculionidae, 46 Psyllidae ; from the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. COLLECTIONS RECEIVED. 195 Dr. W. A. Lamborn, Government Entomologist :—68 Diptera, and 6 pupa cases, 259 Hymenoptera and 1 nest, 121 Coleoptera, numerous examples of damage done by Coleopterous and Lepidopterous larvae, 44 Lepidoptera, 4 species of Coccidae, and 2 other Rhynchota ; from Southern Nigeria. Mr. LI. Lloyd :—22 Glossina and 387 puparia, and 1 Glossina with Mermis ans from Northern Rhodesia. Capt. A. O. Luckman, Assistant District Commissioner :—3 Culicidae, 1 Haema- topota, 66 other Diptera, 1 Flea, 122 Hymenoptera, 246 Coleoptera, 78 Lepidoptera, 2 Planipennia, 73 Rhynchota, 13 Orthoptera, 257 Ticks and 1 Spider ; from British Kast Africa. Dr. R. E. McConnell, Medical Officer :—6 Culicoides, 36 Culicidae, 9 Simuliwm, 16 Haematopota, 4 Tabanus, 18 Glossina, 11 Stomoxys, 7 Lyperosia and 11 other Diptera ; from Uganda. Dr. Harold Macfarlane, Government Bacteriologist :—2,876 Culicidae ; from Hong Kong. Dr. J. W. Scott Macfie, W.A.M.S. :—5 Culicoides, 21 Culicidae, 1 a eer 1 Haematopota, 35 Tabanus, 76 Glossina, 10 other Diptera, 1 Hymenopteron, 1 Psocid, 4 Odonata and 2 Rhynchota ; from Southern Nigeria. Dr. J. G. Morgan, Medical Officer :—2 Dorcaloemus, 22 Haematopota, 71 Tabanus, 23 Glossina, 1 Cordylobia, 7 other Diptera ; from Marimba District, Nyasaland. Mr. 8. A. Neave :—10 Phlebotomus, 37 Culicidae, 123 Silvius, 253 Chrysops, 778 Haematopota, 1 Thriambeutes, 826 Tabanus, 19 egg-masses of T'abanus, 197 Tabanid larvae and 33 pupae, 49 Samulium, 14 Stomoxys, 16 Lyperosia, 3 Glossina, 7 Cordy- lobia and | larva, 138 Asilids and prey, 148 Diptera parasitic on Lepidopterous larvae, 173 other Diptera, 3 Oestrid larvae, 10 Siphonaptera, 25 Parasitic Hymenoptera and Lepidopterous Cocoons from which they emerged, 6 Hymenoptera and prey, 1 nest and bees which emerged from it, 3366 other Hymenoptera, 5375 Coleoptera and 1 larva, 342 bred Moths with early stages, 1690 other Lepidoptera, 18 Thy- sanoptera, 13 Anoplura, 130 Mallophaga, 4 Odonata and prey, 2 other Odonata, 9 Trichoptera, 4 species of Coccidae, 1371 other Rhynchota, 161 Orthoptera, 73 Ticks, 2 Mites and 1 Spider and prey ; from Mlanje, Nyasaland. Dr. J. E. S. Old, M.O. :—80 Tabanus, 1 Auchmeromyia, an Asilid and prey, 42 other Diptera, 15 Hymenoptera, 17 Coleoptera, 140 Lepidoptera, 6 Planipennia, 1 Mantispid, 3 Odonata and 13 Rhynchota ; from Port Herald, Nyasaland. Dr. H. B. Owen, M.O. :—8 Culicidae, 1 Dorcaloemus, 9 Haematopota, 7 Tabanus, 9 Glossina, 3 Stomoxys, 1 Lyperosia, 1 Auchmeromyia, 5 Cordylobia, 2 Hippoboscidae, 3 Ticks ; from Uganda. Dr. J. 8. Pearson, W.A.M.S. :—16 Culicidae, 85 Haematopota, 35 Tabanus, 179 Glossina, 5 Stomoxys, from Sierra Leone. Mr. A. Rutherford, Government Entomologist :—1 Culicid, 5 Stomoxys, 7 Lyperosia, 1 Philaematomyia, 58 other Diptera, 69 Hymenoptera, 90 Coleoptera, 4 larvae and 4 pupae, 65 Lepidoptera, a number of Thrips, 2 Ephemeridae, 144 Rhynchota, 2 Orthoptera and 13 Ticks ; from Peradeniya, Ceylon. Dr. H. 8. Stannus, M.O. :—37 Culicidae, 4 Haematopota, 105 Tabanus, 44 other 196 COLLECTIONS RECEIVED. Diptera, 88 Hymenoptera, 141 Coleoptera, 18 Lepidoptera, 2 Planipennia, 4 Odonata, -110 Rhynchota, and 8 Orthoptera ; from Zomba, Nyasaland. Dr. A. T. Stanton :—29 Culicidae, 1 Haematopota, 3 Tabanus and 5 other “DieKs ‘ from the Far Kast. _ Dr. H. Swale :—4 Pangonia, 1 Thriambeutes, 1 Auchmeromyia, 21 other Diptera, 37 Hymenoptera, 30 Coleoptera and 1 Orthopteron ; from Lonely Mine, S. Rhodesia. Sir Arnold Theiler, K.C.M.G. :—A tube of feather mites (Pterolichus struthionis) ; from Pretoria. Mr. F. W. Urich :—About 65 Scolytidae and a number of larvae, 3 Bostrychidae and 7 specimens of the new Frog-hopper, Tomaspis flavilatera, Urich, including the type ; from Trinidad. Mr. R. C. Wood :—4 Culicidae, 45 Haematopota, 45 Tabanus, 365 other Diptera, 106 Hymenoptera, 128 Coleoptera, 8 Lepidoptera, 1 Planipennia, 1 Odonata, 7 Rhyn- chota, 4 Orthoptera and 35 Arachnida ; from Chilanga, Northern Rhodesia. Dr. J. Y. Wood, W.A.M.S. :—112 Culicidae and 241 larvae and 188 pupae, 4 Haema- topota, 1 Tabanus and 28 Glossina ; from Sierra Leone. Mr. R. C. Wroughton :—1 Padisbhibhe 1 Haematopota, 1 Tabanus, 110 other Diptera and 1 beetle ; ae Natal. VOL. V. Part 3.—pp. 197—2'72. DECEMBER, 1914. BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH ISSUED BY THE IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. EDITOR: THE DIRECTOR. LONDON: SOLD BY ; DULAU & Co., Ltd,, 37, SOHO SQUARE, W. Price 4s. net. All Rights Reserved. IMPERIAL BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. HONORARY COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. THE EARL OF CROMER, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., O.M., Cbairman. Lizot.-CotoneL A. ALCOCK, C.LE., ERS. Mr. E. E. AUSTEN. Dr. A. G. BAGSHAWE. Sm JOHN R. BRADFORD, K.C.M.G., F.B.S. | Surc.-GeneraL Sir DAVID BRUCE, C.B., F. R S. Dre. 8. F. HARMER, F.R.S8. | Pror. H. MAXWELL LEFROY. Sm JOHN McCALL. Dr. R. STEWART MACDOUGALL. Sm JOHN McFADYEAN. ‘Sm PATRICK MANSON, G.C.M.G., F.R.S. Sm DANIEL MORRIS, K.C.M.G. _ Pror. R. NEWSTEAD, E.R.S. Pror. G. H. F. NUTTALL, F.R.S. Pror. E. B. POULTON, F.R:S. Lizut.-Cotonet Sm DAVID PRAIN, C.M.G., C.LE., F.R.S. Mr. H. J. READ, C.B., C.M.G. Tue Hon. N. C. ROTHSCHILD. Mr. HUGH SCOTT. Dr. A. E. SHIPLEY, F.R.S. Sm STEWART STOCKMAN. Mr. F. V. THEOBALD. Me. J. A. C. TILLEY. Mr. C. WARBURTON. Director. Mr. GUY A. K. MARSHALL. Assistant Mirector. Mr. S. A. NEAVE. Secretary. . Mr. A. C. C. PARKINSON. 197 THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, NIGERIA. By W. A. Lamporn, M.B. (Plates XVII-XXYV). The following notes embody the results of observations made during a year of service (May 1913 to May 1914) as the Entomologist in the Agricultural Department of the Southern Provinces, Nigeria. They do not, however, pretend to cover more than a very limited area of the Western Province, for on account of the desirability of beginning the work by making myself acquainted with local conditions by a careful study of the insect problems at the head-quarters of the Department, at Moor Plantation, Ibadan, I suggested that the first few months of my tour should be spent there, hoping afterwards to be afforded an opportunity, which unfortunately was not forthcoming, of making a more general survey of the insect pests of the country. I have confined my remarks to insects which are to be looked on as real pests, and have made no reference to the bionomics of other insects which I have observed to be associated with the indigenous flora. I have classified the pests according to the plant attacked, and have added to my account of each notes as to the measures found useful in dealing with them. | Corton PEsts. Insects attacking the Leaf. Cotton plants at an early stage were frequently attacked by a leaf-miner, which proved to be the larva of a small Tineid moth, Acrocercops bifasciata, Wlsm. (Plate xvii, fig. 10). Good material for study was obtained in the laboratory, where a pot experiment was practically ruined by these pests. The larva generally took a course characteristic of other leaf-miners (Plate xviii), but frequently, when several were present, an extraordinary effect was produced, the whole upper epidermis being lifted up to form one large blister. It is noteworthy that even the cotyledons were often attacked, the consequence being that the vitality of the little plants was very much impaired. The pest is readily destroyed by pinching affected leaves, but if a plant is badly attacked, it is wiser to destroy it. A species of mite, dull red in colour, was detected in very great numbers, late in the season (January), running about under a very delicate web on the underside of the leaves. The leaves attacked presented a characteristic yellowish mottled dry appearance and ultimately fell. The mite appears to bear a very close resemblance to the notorious “ red spiders ” of the genus Tetranychus, which have been credited with the spread of various fungus diseases, the American “ black arm ”’ in particular. My colleague Mr. C. O. Farquharson, M.A., B.Sc., the Government Mycologist, expressed the opinion that these mites are probably responsible for the spread of “ cotton rust ” and of a pink Fusarium, an organism which is probably concerned in the causation of a disease resembling “ black arm ” with which the native varieties, and to a less extent imported varieties, of cotton were badly attacked. Mites very similar to these, if not the same, were found abundantly under the leaves of the various species of Canavalia and on certain bush plants. No treatment against cotton mite was devised, the question as to the réle they actually play in the spread of disease being still sub judice. (C86) Wt.P8.63. 1000. 12.14. B.&F.Ltd. G/p.13/11. A 198 W. A. LAMBORN.—THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS Colonies of the cotton aphis, Aphis gossypii, Glov., which produce a characteristic wrinkling and infolding of the margins of the young leaves, were abundant early in the season (August), but were soon thoroughly checked by natural enemies, the chief of which were found to be Coccinellid beetles, Chilomenes lunata, F., Chilomenes vicina, Muls., and Hyperaspis pumila, Muls., all of which preyed, both as larvae and imagos, on the aphids. The larvae of three species of Syrphid flies, Syrphus nasutus, Wied., Paragus borbonicus, Mcq., and P. longiventris, Bezzi, and the larva of a lace- wing, Micromus timdus, Hagen, also ate them voraciously. By far the worst pest feeding on cotton leaf was the short-horned grasshopper, Zonocerus variegatus, L. Immense swarms of nymphs appeared suddenly, all about the same time in November, and entirely defoliated numerous plants. But though cotton appeared to be the favourite food, the pests were practically omnivorous and attacked, in addition to a large variety of wild plants, other plants under cultivation, young maize, young Para rubber, cassava in particular (Plate xix), bananas, and a variety of ornamental plants, especially Acalypha. Cacao was occasionally attacked, but fortunately was not a favourite food. La The insects gradually scattered as they attained maturity, and in late January completed the last ecdysis (Plate xxv, fig. 2), after which they were to be seen in coitu everywhere, and shortly afterwards new swarms of larvae appeared. . The multiplicity of food-plants and the enormous numbers of the pest made the question of dealing with them a difficult one; moreover it was felt that the use of Paris green, whether as a spray or as a dusting powder, was undesirable from the ginners point of view. Chromate of lead, prepared as recommended by Lefroy, was therefore used in spray form as the lesser evil and it certainly had a deterrent effect, causing the majority of the insects to migrate to new feeding grounds and killing afew. Since the insects are gregarious through the greater part of the life-cycle, it is possible that a trial of d’Herelle’s virus might have yielded valuable results, but a supply could not be obtained in time for that season. The leaf-roller, Sylepta derogata, F., occurred abundantly early in the season, about November, on certain imported varieties, American Upland in particular, but were much less numerous on the native cottons, the so-called Ishan and Meko varieties. Tachinid parasites, possibly of two species, an Ichneumonid, Xanthopimpla punctata, F., and some BRAcCONIDAE were bred out from the pupae, but were not numerous enough to be effective in checking the pest. An attempt was therefore made to cope with it by the use of insecticidal sprays, which did not however prove a success, owing to the difficulty of getting the poison on to the rolled-up part of the leaf, on which the caterpillar mainly subsists. Resort was therefore had to hand-picking by small native boys, who collected at the same time the various cotton stainers. The larvae of the Limacod moth, Parasa infuscata, Wichg., were not uncommon, and green half-looper Noctuid larvae were found from time to time, but were not responsible for any great damage, being kept down by the agency of a species of Eumenid wasp, Humenes mazillosa, de Geer, a black household insect very common in the Ibadan district, which stored the larvae as food for its grubs in great numbers, five or six being often found in each of the seven or eight cells composing its nest. Various beetles, a Lagriid, Lagria villosa, F., and the HEumolpid Syagrus calcaratus, F., in particular, were found to cause a certain amount of leas dasnaee, OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, NIGERIA. 199 Gnsects attacking the Stem. Two species of scale-insects, Hemichionaspis minor, Maskell, and Pulvinaria jackson, Newst. (Plate xxi, fig. 1) were found on cotton stems, neither in any great Fig. 1. Pseudagrilus sophorae, L. abundance. The former, a small insect occurring in such great profusion on par- ticular plants as to give at a distance the impression that the branches might have been dusted with a white powder, was frequently found also on a fibre plant, Urena lobata, L., on okra (Hibiscus esculentus, L.) and various other Malvaceae, and on a species of Ipomoea, but, as the season went on, it was much checked by both larvae and imagos of a Coccinellid beetle, Chilocorus schiddter, Muls., which occurred abundantly, and had a gregarious tendency, even pupating close together. The Pulvinaria, a species recorded also as a cotton pest in Uganda, was much less numerous, being found here and there only in a ten-acre plot of Griffin cotton. The larva of a small green Buprestid beetle, Pseudagrilus sophorae, L., (fig. 1) caused ‘considerable damage and some loss of plants owing to its habit of boring the stems, ‘The appearance produced in the plants was characteristic. When a young plant was attacked general stunting and distortion with shortening of the internodes was ‘produced, and the uppermost leaves failed to attain full size, though the lower ‘ones were to all intents normal in this respect (Plate xx). Young plants attacked did not as a rule die, but often went on to produce undersized imperfect bolls. Older plants became sickly and tended to shed their leaves. On examination of the stem of such a plant the point of entrance of the grub could usually be found near the ground, so that it is here, in all probability, that the parent beetle deposits its egg; the grub then bores in the cambium for 3 or 4 inches to and fro in a very characteristic zigzag manner, filling up the tunnel behind itself with pink sawdust- like excreta. The course it takes in the cambium explains how it is that the plants do not die as a result of the attack but suffer only from impairment of vitality. The larva then proceeds to tunnel straight up in the wood for a distance of about 12 inches, usually in the main stem, but often in one of the larger limbs, and when full-fed penetrates to the pith cavity, where it comfortably pupates in a little bed on the soft pith, though occasionally in the wood. In due course it turns into a beetle, which reaches the outer world by boring, such holes of egress being readily found high up ‘on the stem of the plant. No method of coping with this pest, other than by destruction of affected plants, was devised. Another stem-borer found late in the season was a Lepidopterous larva, possibly an Aegeriid. (C86) A2 200 W. A. LAMBORN.—THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS Insect Pests attacking Cotton Roots. The larvae of a Lamellicorn beetle, recorded for the first time in 1910 by Jemmett. as attacking cotton roots, were responsible for the loss of a number of plants. The symptoms of their presence were a gradual withering of the leaves, which then turned red and fell, a slow drying of the stem, premature opening of the bolls, and ultimate death of the plant. The roots of the plant were then found to be decorticated, and. there was usually a redundancy of new tissue at the junction of the healthy and attacked parts. With a view to combating the pest, Ee eantents in the application of a 1 in 200 aqueous solution of carbon bisulphide to the roots by means of the Gastine apparatus. were undertaken in collaboration with the Assistant Director of the Department, and the results were distinctly promising, some plants which were apparently dying having subsequently put out new leaves and recommenced to grow. The plot of cotton especially attacked by this pest had borne a similar crop in the previous season. Doubtless the loss would have been less had there been a change of the crop on it, for the beetles and their larvae possibly le dormant in the ground during the unfavourable conditions of the dry season. 9 Insects attacking Cotton Bolls. The red bollworm, Diparopsis castanea, Hmp., occurred abundantly. The life- history of this well-known insect has already been worked out by several entomolo- gists, and my observations accord with what I have read, but there is one important: feature characteristic of the insect in Nigeria, namely, that whereas in the majority of cases pupation lasts eight to ten days, yet a small number of instances occur in which the pupa may lie dormant in the ground for many months. Some of these bollworms which buried themselves in earth in my laboratory in October were still in late May, when I came away, in the resting pupa condition, though moving actively at a touch, obviously a provision of nature to ensure the preservation of the species. through the adverse conditions of the dry season. The life-history of Earias biplaga, Walk., the other common -bollworm, was not definitely worked out, though larvae of all ages were from time to time found not only in bolls, but at an earlier stage in flower-buds. They were found also feeding on the eaves and in the seed-pods of the fibre plant, Sida carpinifolia, L., also of the family Malvaceae, as well as on the leaves of several bush plants. The full-fed larva, which measures about 2 inch in length, is dull brown in colour and is characterised by the presence of four pointed tubercles on each segment, so situated as to form dorsal and sublateral longitudinal rows. The colour of the larva, the presence of these tubercles, and the fact that it is often found as a leaf-eater seem to indicate that its boll-boring propensities are a recent development, probably dating from the cultivation on a large scale of cotton in the country. Though no natural enemies were discovered in the case of Diparopsis, a species of Eumenid wasp, Rhynchium ventrale, Sauss., a black insect with a red tip to its. abdomen, was found to act asan important check on Earias. This Humenid was for a very long time confused by myself with other very similar insects, Synagris calida, L., S. spiniventris, Ill., and Rhynchium synagroides, Sauss., until I noticed a wasp on the wing carrying an Farias larva. It was seen to enter a cylindrical tube of mud ? OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, NIGERIA. 201 attached to a wall, and on breaking this away a boring was discovered, which was found to lead into a branching passage enclosing several closed cells, in which were Noctuid larvae of two species, EHarias biplaga, and a form unidentified. Further observation led to the discovery of many similar tunnels, and in the light of this fact I observed the wasps in the cotton fields, and found them actively searching for this particular prey. Two other species of bollworm, Pyroderces simplex, Wlsm., and a new species of the family GeLecuiapAg, described by Mr. J. H. Durrant under under the name of Mometa zemiodes, gen. et sp. nov. (see p. 243), were also studied. Though Pyroderces was quite abundant, and is now for the first time recorded from Nigeria, it was obtained as long ago as 1885 in the Gambia by Sir Gilbert Carter, where also the larva was found attacking maize. A full description of the insect by Mr. J. H. Durrant has already appeared in this Bulletin (Vol. i, pt. 2, p. 206, Aug. 1912). Both these two bollworms are small bright pink caterpillars which were found for the first time in June abundantly in belated bolls on plants of the previous season, but were not seen again until the cotton season was well advanced. Whereas Diparopsis and Earias bore into unopened bolls and eat away both the immature lint and seeds, the two pests under consideration confine themselves solely to the seeds in opened bolls, eating out the substance till only the husk remains ; they are not therefore productive of damage to the same extent as the other forms, though their activities continue even when the unginned cotton is stored away in bags and they may be found alive in seed even after ginning. The larvae were found occasionally also in waste seed scattered about the ginnery. Both the larvae are much subject to attack by a Chalcid parasite, Chalcis olethrius, Waterston, sp. nov. (see p. 257), many of which were bred out in the laboratory. No method of controlling the pests other than by collecting and destroying affected bolls was devised. At the end of the season, when the plants are pulled up and destroyed, the soil should be carefully and thoroughly dug up and turned over with a view to exposing the aestivating Harias pupae. During the dry season the Pyrrhocorid bug, Dysdercus superstitiosus, F., was found in some numbers, many even then im cortu, sucking up the secretion from the nectaries of Urena lobata, and at this time they appeared to be able to thrive on almost any food, whether of animal or vegetable origin, for eight or ten were noticed feeding on a dead and sun-dried lizard and a batch of young nymphs was found on sheep’s excreta. They are able to support themselves also on various fallen and dried bush seeds. Later on these cotton stainers were to be found in large numbers feeding on the heads of guinea corn, fifteen feet high, where it was impossible to reach them, and even on ordinary grass panicles. A very decided preference was shown for okra, a few plants which happened to be growing near cotton and with their fruit at a more advanced stage, being simply covered with the insects. It is a rather singular fact that the black-banded cotton stainer, Dysdercus nigro- fasciatus, Stal, previously reported as a fairly abundant pest, did not appear until late December, and then only in very small numbers ; neither were the two remaining stainers, D. melanoderes, Karsch, and Oxycarenus dudgeont, Dist., at all numerous. 202 W. A. LAMBORN.—THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS The latter was found to be a late season pest, breeding in opened bolls and attacking the seeds. It was frequently found in lint removed from the bolls put aside for the- purpose of ginning. The enormous numbers of D. superstitiosus (49,000 were collected in November from 46 acres) were to be accounted for, in my opinion, by their swarming in from the farms and bush adjoining the plantation, attracted to their favourite | food-plants. A fact of much interest is that D. superstitiosus and D. melanoderes occasionally interbreed, for a male of the former species was taken im coitu with a female of the- latter from which eleven offspring, all swperstitiosus, were reared in the laboratory, a result in accordance with Mendelian expectation. The life-cycle in the laboratory, from egg to imago, occupied 29 days only, though a previous observer has recorded. 68 to 72 days as its duration, and it seems to me quite probable that under natural conditions with an abundance of fresh food the period would be even shorter. My own observations confirm a previous statement that swperstotiosus oviposits in the ground and not, as would be expected, on the food-plant, and the newly hatched. larvae feed on any cotton debris they can find, and then, crawling up the stems, find. their way to the bolls. | Small nets were successfully employed for collecting immature wingless stainers,. which, congregating on bolls and at the extremities of the branches, were readily shaken off. Many were shaken by small boys into wide-mouthed tins containing: water and a small amount of kerosene, a method suitable for the native farmer. The large stainer net, as used in the West Indies, was thoroughly tested, but was not- found to have any real practical value against the Nigeria insects, for the adult stainers. only fell off when the plant was shaken excessively, to such an extent as to render damage probable, and more often than not they took to flight instead of falling. Moreover, the methods of cultivation and the habit in growth of the cotton plants. under trial did not permit the ready use of such an appliance. Hand-picking seems likely to prove the most efficacious method of controlling the: pest. By hand-picking 49,453 stainers, the great majority of which were mature: breeding insects, with 7,081 larvae and 2,120 pupae of the leaf-roller, Sylepta derogata, were collected in the month of November from the 46 acres under cotton, at a cost of £4, so that if the labour of small boys is utilised, the method can hardly be considered. an expensive one. Probably if a larger gang than ten had been put on to the work earlier in the season, the results would have been even more effective. Hand-picking has the advantage also in that other pests, e.g., the leaf-roller, can be dealt with at the same time ; but for the method to be really effective, it would be essential that there. should be co-operation, year after year, among all the farmers in the cotton districts. Evidence of the value of the measure was afforded by the excellence of the cotton grown, which, in spite of attack by these pests in hordes, was yet awarded by the: British Cotton Growing Association the prize annually offered for the best cotton. grown in countries in which they have interests. Some General Remarks on Cotton. Mixed cultivation, as was pointed out by Jemmett in 1910, certainly has the: advantage of decreasing the spread of insect pests. Other Malvaceae should obviously ' not be planted in the vicinity of cotton, unless it is intended to collect pests on them, OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, NIGERIA. | 203 for Urena and the various species of Habiscus serve to attract them almost as much as cotton itself, and moreover the cotton scales flourish on all these plants. Okra, in particular, might probably be planted with great advantage as a trap crop by means of which early collecting of stainers and leaf-rollers could be carried out, for the latter breeds as freely on this as on cotton. It was noticeable at Moor Plantation that hybrid cottons planted in long narrow plots between belts of maize were relatively free from insect attack as compared with | that planted in broad open fields, and it seems highly probable that this freedom from insect attack was due to the influence of the tall maize in preventing the wafting abroad of the odours which serve to attract insects either to feed or to oviposit. Many visits were made to native farms for the purpose of studying their cotton. Native farmers do not as a rule appear to appreciate that one good sturdy plant is. likely to produce better and more abundant bolls than a number of feeble, under- sized plants, and they often have as many as eight or ten sickly plants all springing from the same spot, a condition noticeable even on farms actually adjoining Moor Plantation. The farmer habitually leaves the lint unpicked long after the bolls have burst open, his idea being to gather it all in at one picking instead of by repeated pickings. It then becomes stained and deteriorated in quality, the result being that the cotton stainer gets some unmerited blame, and the commercial! repute of the lint is likely to suffer unnecessarily. Well after the cotton season, in May, it was noticeable that on many farms the cotton plants were still left in the ground and that late bolls were unpicked and were absolutely infested with bollworm, stainers and other pests. It is highly desirable that all old plants should be pulled up and burnt, with a view to keeping down these insects, but if the plants are allowed to remain for a second season, the old bolls should certainly be destroyed, when picking is not being regularly carried out. Legislative measures to enforce these precautions have been brought in in all the great cotton-growing centres. | / Cacao Pxsts. Insects attacking Cacao Leaf. Colonies of a species of Psyllid, Udamostigma tessmanni, Aulm. var., occurred frequently on the growing shoots of young plants and were successfully combated by brushing with kerosene emulsion. Black Aphids were found from time to time on the stems of young yellow pods, and on the under side of young leaves, producing a characteristic infolding of the margins, axial rotation of the leaf, and unusual crispness of the leaf substance. At Agege, the cacao centre of the Colony, 12 miles north of Lagos, the larvae of two species of Syrphid flies and the larvae of a Lacewing, preying exclusively on the Aphids, were found in abundance. Many of the aphis colonies, composed both of imagos and immature forms, were found to have died in situ, as if from disease, so that the natural agencies checking the pest were thoroughly effective. Young plants were to some extent attacked by the grasshopper, Zonocerus variegatus, already mentioned as a cotton pest, but the principal insect scourge, as in previous years, was the Rutelid beetle, Adoretus hirtellus, Castn., which feeds by night, nvariably attacking young plants, and hiding by day, often about the roots. A 204 W. A. LAMBORN.—THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS second leaf-eating beetle, found in some numbers in the early morning was & Melolonthid, Trochalus carinatus, Schonh. A species of basket worm, the larva of the Psychid moth, Metisa sierricola, White, (Plate xxui), was to be found occasionally eating cacao leaves. The wonderful power possessed by the legless, wingless females of this family of attracting the males was repeatedly shown by the assembling of males, often to the number of forty or fifty and always in the early morning, to a newly emerged captive female. The caterpillar of the Arctiid moth, Diacrisia maculosa, Cram., was also found attacking the leaves, and is probably the most important pest next to Adoretus. The larvae of a small Noctuid moth, Harias citrina, Saalm., were also observed on the leaves of young cacao plants. Though larvae of the Hesperid, Rhopalocampta forestan, Cram., have been recorded as cacao leaf pests in Nigeria, they were not in evidence on cacao during the past season, though they were collected in large numbers from a bush plant by the Humenid wasp, Synagris spiniventris, Ill., which stores them exclusively as food for its larvae. The red tree ant, Oecophylla smaragdina longinoda, Latr., which occurred on the Jarger plants abundantly and is highly combative, probably plays a most useful part in keeping off the various insect pests other than CoccipaE. Its presence probably accounts for the fact that only young plants which it does not frequent, are attacked by leaf pests, for the latter do not cause appreciable damage to older and well established plants. In regard to the measures adopted against the leaf-eaters, in the wet season the plants were dusted with a mixture of Paris green and lime, a measure attended with good results. Later on, spraying with chromate of lead solution was adopted instead, owing to the liability of Paris green to scorch the young and tender leaves. Insects attacking the Stems. The only stem-borers found were the larvae of the Megalopygid moth, Hulophonotus myrmeleon, Feld. (Plate xvii, figs. 7, 9), the only representative of the MEGALOPYGIDAE known to occur outside America. The larvae usually tunnel medium-sized branches, causing a gradual impairment of vitality, so that the leaves droop, then wither and fall, and the branch itself ultimately blackens and dies. The cause of the conditionis — readily determined by finding at the junction of the healthy and diseased parts of the branch a circular orifice, covered up with sawdust-like droppings held together with silk, which leads into a tunnel containing a white maggot-like larva or a brown, spiny pupa. It is unusual for the main stem to be attacked. In the Onipe district, about 15 miles due south of Ibadan, this species occurred in abundance, nearly every tree yielding one or two specimens. These boring pests are well known to the farmers in the cacao-growing district, and it is their practice to lop affected branches, leaving them on the ground. This probably makes little difference to the well-being of the borers, which can thrive in freshly dead wood if moisture is present, so that to destroy the pests it is necessary to burn such branches ; though if found before much damage is done, an easy method is to push a flexible wire up the tunnels, subsequently plugging and tarring the hole. With a view to killing the larvae tunnelling in main stems, injections of carbon bisulphide were made into the bore-holes and they were then immediately plugged with a pellet of clay and tarred. This measure also seemed to be attended with good results. OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, NIGERIA. 205 The boring beetle recorded as attacking cacao on the Gold Coast was not found, though special search was made for it. Some of the trees at Agege, in September, showed evidence of attack by other insects, probably Lepidopterous larvae, which had fed in the deeper layers of the bark. No specimens were then obtainable, but the offender is almost certainly the larva of an Aegeriid moth, the damage being precisely similar to that produced by larvae of this family on the cashew and ona species of Albizzia, such as, Melisomimas metallica, Hmp., sp. nov. (see p. 245). Such larvae are particularly subtle in their mode of attack, for they eat away the deeper layers of the bark, re-inforcing the superficial layers on the underside with silk, which prevents any very obvious surface indications of the mischief which is proceeding, the result being that areas as large as the palm of one’s hand are eventually denuded. The material covering the pest was scraped away, and then the exposed surface was tarred with a view to preventing fungus attack. The notorious bark-sapper, Sahlbergella theobroma, Dist., a Capsid bug figured and described by Dudgeon in a previous number of this Bulletin (vol. i, p. 60, Plate viii) from specimens taken on the Gold Coast, occurred sparingly in the Onipe district, near Ibadan. It is, as I was informed by Mr. C. O. Farquharson, the Mycologist, who is familiar with the insect, a serious menace to the cacao in the Eastern Province, a district which I was not afforded an opportunity of visiting myself. Small Bostrychid beetles and their larvae were found occasionally boring in dead cacao limbs. It may here be said that beetles of this family in Nigeria are to be found boring in living as well as in dead wood, quite commonly in Hibiscus rosasinensis, and in Mela azedarach, a fact at variance with the usually accepted account of their habits. Cacao Scale-Insects. Several species of this family, some of which have been noted as pests in other cacao-growing areas in Africa, were found, though none occurred in any great abundance. A Dactylopius, either longispinus, Targ., or virgatus var. madagas- cariensis, Newst. (Plate xxi, fig. 2), was found here and there on the growing shoots of young plants at Moor Plantation and on the flower-stalks and small pods at Agege. As has been recorded elsewhere (Trans. Ent. Soc., 1913, p. 475) both these scales are effectively checked by the larvae of the Lycaenid butterfly, Spalgis lemolea, H. H. Druce, which was actually carrying out this useful work at Agege. At Moor Plantation this scale was successfully treated by brushing the affected area on each plant with kerosene emulsion, a method which in the case of small plants is certainly less prejudicial than spraying. Stictococcus sjdstedt1, Newst., one of the recognised cacao pests of Western Africa, was found both at Moor Plantation and at Agege, at the latter place protected by the large red ant, Oecophylla. The natural enemies of this scale already recorded in Nigeria (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1913, pp. 491 and 493) are the larvae of the Noctuid moth, Hublemma ochrochroa, Hmp., and of the Tortricid, Tortrix callopista, Durrant. A third larva was also found eating the same species of Stictococcus on the fruit of a species of Napoleonica. At Moor Plantation, though not at Agege, this scale showed evidences of parasitism by Chalcids. 206: W. A. LAMBORN.—THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS Another Stictococcus, S. dimorphus, Newst., occurred on cacao at the Agege planta- tion, especially on the new shoots, and less on the native farms, a fact doubtless to be accounted for by the use for shade purposes of the pigeon pea plant, Cajanus wdicus, on which this particular scale is to be found in great profusion. It was greatly checked by a Noctuid larva, Hublemma scitula, Ramb., of the sub-family ERAsTrRIINAE, the larva, as in the case of EH. ochrochroa, concealing and protecting itself under a shield largely composed of the shells of its victims. ) Another scale, which was common on pigeon pea and found from time to time on cacao, was a species of [cerya (Plate xxiv, fig. 1). Insects attacking the Pods. A small Lymantriid caterpillar was found sparingly eating the superficial layers. of the cortex, but doing little direct damage, though probably paving the way for fungus attack. Fig. 2. Araecerus fasciculatus, de G. Some Anthribid beetles, Araecerus fasciculatus, de G., were bred from larvae boring in the husk and a-Lepidopterous borer, the larva of Characoma stictigrapta, Hmp., (Plate xvii, fig. 6) was also not uncommon. The caterpillar of this insect bored. exclusively in the husk, its track being betrayed by patches of black rot of the super- ficial layers, consequent on the undermining, and by the discharge through various rounded apertures of frass held together by silk. When full-fed, the larva spins a cocoon in the thickness of the husk and there pupates. The scale-insect Stictococcus dimorphus, Newst., occurred fairly frequently on the larger pods, more particularly on those of the Hales Amelonado variety, where they were assiduously guarded by the red ant (Plate xxi). This scale causes the cortex of the pod to rot in small black circular areas, on which a white floury amorphous. powder, possibly due to the drying of some secretion, is found after the scale has fallen off, and it certainly paves the way for fungus attack. - Some Trypetid flies, Ceratitis migra, Grah., were captured in great abundance in the cacao fields at Agege during a short visit in late April, but did not permit of an_ investigation into their relation to the pods. Another undetermined species was also obtained jn the same neighbourhood, ovipositing in the fruit of a bush plant. Termites. White ants eating away dead wood on the cacao trees at Agege were numerous. No species attacking living wood was found, though, as the dead material is eaten OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, NIGERIA. 207: away, it is probable that more and more of the living material behind it gradually dies owing to the removal of the protective covering, or from fungus attack, so that from small beginnings serious damage may be produced. It has been a vexed question in the colony as to whether any of the species of termite will attack the roots of living cacao and rubber. From such observations as I have been able to make I see no reason to suppose that this is the case, except in a very dry season, when they may attack living tissues for the sake of the moisture in them. Dead plants on native farms are rarely removed until they become infested with termites, and frequently in the case of dead trees no definite cause other than this can be seen, but I was informed by the Mycologist that the termites almost invariably follow close behind fungus disease, the presence of which the native a of course has not appreciated. One of the large black Ponerine ants, Paltothyreus tarsatus, F., plays a useful part. in attacking and carrying off termites on every possible occasion. The termites were successfully combated by means of the “ Universal Ant Destroyer,” a machine by means of which arsenical and sulphurous vapours, with a mixture of carbon monoxide and dioxide, are pumped into the termitarium. Pig. 3. Paremydica insperata, Fst. ; Fig. 4. Balanogastris kolae, Desbr-. a, dorsal outline ; 6, head and thorax seen from below. INSECTS ATTACKING KOLA. A Delphacid, Pundaluoya simplicia, Dist. (see p. 242), was found quite commonly in all stages of development at the tips of young shoots. They were treated by brushing with a weak kerosene emulsion. Young nursery plants were, like cacao, much attacked by the Adoretus beetle, which produces the same characteristic damage to the leaf, and by various grasshoppers, the chief of which was Zonocerus variegatus, L. A considerable variety of other leaf-eaters were found, but none was responsible for any great damage. The usual stomach poisons were employed against these pests. Kola nuts, both on the tree and in store, were considerably attacked by weevils, Paremydica insperata, Fst., and Balanogastris kolae, Desbr., which in turn were parasitised by an Ichneumonid. 208 W. A. LAMBORN.—-THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS InsEcts ATTACKING COFFEE. Only one leaf-eater of any importance, the larva of the Drepanid moth, Metadrepana glauca, Hmp. (Plate xvii, fig. 4), was found, and this solely at Agege. The caterpillar is dull green, with a lighter coloured bulbous expansion of the thorax, and a long black whip-like tail. The Coreid bug, Riptortus tenuwicorms, Dall., previously recorded as a_ pest, was not in evidence this year on coffee, though it was obtained in great numbers on a small low-growing Leguminous plant. Various scale-insects, Stictococcus in particular, were found on young shoots, but by no means in abundance, and were protected by the Oecophylla ant. ) Maize Pests. Leaf-eaters. The most important pests attacking maize in the leaf were Lepidopterous larvae. ‘The life-history of one of these, Prodenia litura, F., was worked out. The female parent deposits her eggs en masse on the underside of a maize leaf, protecting and concealing them with a downy material composed of hairs and scales from her abdomen. The larvae hatch in three days, and immediately commence to eat away the superficial layers of the leaf so that it exhibits translucent patches and becomes withered ; they then gradually scatter and as they become stronger eat away the whole thickness of the leaf. When about two-thirds grown, at the 13th to the 16th day, the larvae, which are brown, show a tendency to conceal themselves in the heart of the plant ; this is of interest as showing a possible step towards the develop- ment of actual boring habits. It is at this stage that most damage is done, for often ‘the only indication of their presence is the withering up and ultimate death of the growing shoot, which on examination is found to be eaten through towards the base. When full-fed, towards the middle of the fourth week, the larva buries itself in the ground and, forming an earthen cocoon, pupates, the fully developed insect appearing about eight days later. The larva of the Noctuid Cirphis loreyr, Dup., and that of a species of Plusia were found frequently on maize leaves, and there were quite a number of other species not sufficiently numerous to be considered pests. Two species of Lymantrid cater- pillars devote their attention to the silk, eating it away flush with the apex of the cob, an attack which, if it occurs before fertilisation has taken place, must lead to total failure of the cob. The earwig, Hlaunon erythrocephalus, Oliv., was responsible for some damage to green maize. The species seems to be of gregarious habit, isolated ‘specimens being rarely found, and their attack on a plant produces a very characteristic appearance, which, when once seen, can always be detected ata glance. The growing shoot loses tone, droops and becomes withered, and on separating the leaves one finds earwigs congregating in and about holes bored into the leaves and stem. This leads to the plant dying back as a rule, but it seems to recover and recommences to grow, and as the new leaves attempt to force their way through the holes in the old ‘ones, they become restrained and distorted. These earwigs actually breed on the plants, and it is no uncommon thing to find a female parent brooding over a batch of ten to fifteen light yellow eggs, or much agitated at the prospect of danger menacing the young family over which it mounts guard with exemplary solicitude. OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, NIGERIA. 20% Pests attacking stems and cobs. The chief of these was a dirty-grey caterpillar, the larva of the Noctuid moth, Sesamia calamistis, Hampson (Plate xvii, fig. 1). Another species, which is almost, equally numerous, is the larva of the Pyralid moth, Eldana saccharina, Walk. (Plate xvii, fig. 2), a white maggot-like caterpillar with black head and prothoracic plate. A third borer found occasionally in the stems was the larva of the Noctuid, Busseola fusca, Hampson (Plate xvii, fig. 3), which is one of the principal borers in maize in South Africa. The effect produced by these borers varied with the age of the plant. Young plants withered and sometimes died, but older plants. survived, though they showed the results of the attack by their stunted growth and withered appearance, and by the failure of the cobs to develop and mature satisfactorily. A large number of malformed cobs examined at Agege showed larvae, pupae or pupa-cases at the core. When plants bearing cobs are attacked the caterpillars seem to prefer the cob to: ’ the stem, but the mode of attack is different in each case. Sesamia usually feeds away at the heart of the cob, not as a rule touching the seeds, and when full-fed, pupates. in this situation. The damage done to the seed is therefore indirect. EHldana, on the other hand, prefers to eat the grains, through which it tunnels here and there, pupating eventually in a white silken cocoon, firmly bound up in the seed, though such cocoons may sometimes be found between the layers of the husk. The two common species, Sesamza and Eldana are both checked by a Tachinid fly, which was especially abundant at Agege, though its influence as a check was found to be reduced owing to its being itself much subject to attack by Chalcid parasites— a new species of the family ENoyrtipaz. A fact of great importance is that these two larvae were to be found even in maize stems left standing in the field long after the cobs had been picked. These stems often possess vitality enough to put out new green shoots, which may continue to grow for weeks after the cobs have been removed. The larvae of Sesama and of Busseola were also found as borers in the stems of the coarse grass found so abundantly in the Ibadan district, and moths from larvae in the grass were bred out in the laboratory. The bright pink larva of another Noctuid works havoc in a particularly subtle way, by feeding just inside the apex of the cob on the silk, which may then fall out. For- tunately its attentions were not limited to young silks, but extended also to older ones, in which case as the seeds were already fertilised it could do little harm. When full-fed these caterpillars spun their cocoons in the remains of the silk and these were readily obtained by gently pulling the silks, which then usually came away quite easily in one’s hand. These larvae are frequently parasited by Tacurnrpaz, the pupae of which were often found in the cocoons, but the Tachinid pupae in turn are often infested with Chalcids. This pest was much more abundant in Agege than in the Ibadan district. Towards the end of the maize season a further caterpillar pest, the larva of the Pyralid moth, Mussidia nigrivenella, Rag. (Plate xvii, fig. 5), was to be found here and there in the almost ripe cobs. Some importance is to be attached to it in the field, for this insect is one of the chief pests attacking stored grain and is indeed responsible for almost as much damage as the various grain beetles, infection in the first place taking place in the field, and subsequent generations feeding up in the store. 210 Ww. A, LAMBORN.—THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS The pests which cause most damage to maize in the fields are the cob and stem borers, with which it is almost impossible to deal directly, though, as pointed out by my predecessors, their numbers could certainly be reduced by a cleaner system of farming. The maize on the native farms is as a rule allowed to remain in the field long after it is ripe, so that it becomes infested with caterpillars and weevils; it should unquestionably be harvested as early as possible and then the husks and stems should be disposed of. The native practice of leaving the stems still standing in the fields and of training up the yam vine on them cannot be too strongly discouraged, for, as already pointed out, the borers continue to feed and thrive in these partly dead stems. When the cobs are stripped, also, the husks are littered about, many con- taining larvae and pupae of pests. The ideal method of disposing of maize refuse would be to burn it, but as this was felt to be undesirable from the point of view of sound farming, a series of experiments were made with a view to testing how far the burial of refuse, or its inclusion in com- post heaps would result in destruction of the pests. It was found that borers in maize , and guinea-corn refuse perished when it was buried under a few inches of earth in the ‘wet season, when doubtless bacterial action and other fermentative changes set up in the fluids in the stems would accelerate their death. Formation of the refuse into a compost heap was also equally effective. The problem of the control of these pests therefore resolves itself into (a) harvesting as early as possible, and (b) clean farming ; and if these are practised, there are likely to be fewer pests in stored grain. | Pests ATTACKING STORED Mazz. On my arrival in late May, maize in the store was found to be severely attacked by the common grain weevil, Calandra oryzae, L., the Tenebrionid Tribolium con- fusum, the Trogositid Tenebrioides mauritanicus, L., and by a fourth smaller brown beetle, in addition to the larvae of the Pyralid moths, Mussidia nigrivenella, Rag., and Ephestia cautella, Walk., and all these pests reappeared in great force in the new maize almost as soon as it was stored. None of the field pests other than these was found to attack stored maize. As showing the remarkable instinct possessed by these pests for finding food for themselves and their offspring it may be mentioned that, in early November, five sacks of sound maize, apparently free from insects, were placed in the laboratory. On the following day maize beetles and moths were observed to be flying in at the windows, at once settling on the sacks, and there was a gradual and constant invasion subse- quently, so that at the end of December the grain was absolutely riddled by them. A large number of little Chalcids were then discovered in the maize and it was subse- quently found that they were breeding freely in larvae of Calandra, though owing to the enormous numbers of these beetles they were not effective as a check. These parasites belong to a new species of Meraporus (family PTrEROMALIDAE) which will shortly be described by Mr. James Waterston. The harvested grain was placed in a seed store, the window frames of which were filled with copper mosquito gauze for ventilation purposes. In March, a dense mass of the moths Ephestia and Mussidia could be seen early each morning flying up and down on the outside in an endeavour to find an entrance, and settling down quietly OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, NIGERIA. 211 as the day advanced to wait till night-fall before resuming their activities, eventually dying in such numbers that handfuls could be gathered on each sill. With a view to estimating the relative increase of, and the damage done by, Calandra and Tribolium respectively, the following experiments were conducted. On 27th October, half a pound of thoroughly sun-dried new maize was placed in a well closed glass jar with fifty Calandra. When examined again on 30th December, the maize, shaken free of debris produced by the attack, was found to have lost 14 oz. in weight, and though only 40 per cent. of the seeds had been attacked, 420 weevils and a large number of larvae were found. On the same day half a pound of maize was placed in a sealed jar with 50 T'ribolium. On 30th December the grain, shaken free of debris, had lost 2 oz. in weight, and though the beetles, exclusive of larvae, had only increased to 167, the grain had suffered to the extent of about 65 per cent., a much greater damage therefore than in the first experiment. The explanation of this appears to be that T’rzboliwm bores into a grain, deposits an egg or feeds, and then goes on to another grain, whereas Calandra will contentedly feed away and oviposit in a single grain. It was found in the laboratory that a single grain of maize contains sufficient nourishment to support a female Calandra and her developing offspring for five weeks, at the end of which time her mature offspring may number five or six, all of which have fed up on this one grain. These results were not obtained in the case of Tribolwum, though in one case a single mature insect was bred out in the course of a month from one grain, which also sup- ported the female parent during this time. Further experiments show that, though both Calandra and Tribolium are. found in cobs in the field, yet Calandra does not seem to have the power, possessed by Tribolium, of boring through the unbroken sheath of the cob. Calandra placed on such a sheath in glass tubes, mouth downwards, died a lingering death after ten to fifteen days without having pierced it, whereas Trzboliwm very soon disappeared intothecob. In all probability, therefore, Calandra obtains access to the cob through the opening at the apex from which the silk has dropped out, or through holes made in the sheath by borers. A few experiments were made in the hope of finding if possible a sacking material proof against Calandra and Triboliwm for the storage of fumigated maize, but the only fact established was that the weevil does not penetrate a coarse drill, though unfortunately T'rzboliwm has no difficulty in doing so. As has been already noted, the Pyralid moth, Mussidia, is a formidable pest in stored maize. The larva when first hatched bores into a grain and eats out the soft nitrogenous radicle at the apex, leaving the harder part untouched, so that a grain attacked comes to resemble in shape a small double tooth with two fang-like processes. When this is finished, if the grain is still on the cob, it gradually tunnels along the whole length of a row, eating away the softer portions and leaving the hard shells, and it pupates eventually in a silken cocoon in this tunnel. There is often no surface evidence of the damage which is proceeding. When shelled maize is attacked the caterpillar spins grains together and then bores through the mass. Silk web with characteristic damage is to be looked on as infallible evidence as to the presence of this moth. A rough estimate of the damage done by the pest was obtained by placing, on 30th October, four female moths in a jar 212 W. A. LAMBORN.—THE AGRICULTURAL PESTS containing 8 oz. of sound maize. Oviposition took place at once and a few days later a large number of larvae hatched out. At the end of two months, on 30th December, two generations had completed their life-cycle; the maize, shaken free of debris, had lost 25 per cent. in weight, and 50 per cent. of the grain showed evidence of attack. For the purpose of freeing the seed maize at Moor Plantation from these insect pests, — it was fumigated, after preliminary experiments, with carbon bisulphide, employed. as suggested by the Imperial Institute, at the rate of 5 lb. per 1,000 cubic feet of space, and fumigation of each batch was made to extend over five days, by which time it. was anticipated that, even if the eggs of the pest had not been killed, the larvae would have hatched out and perished. These anticipations seemed at first to be fully realized and for some time there were: no signs of living pests. But atthe end of about three months, greatly to my surprise. and disappointment, weevils and grain beetles reappeared in some of the sacks. I then made a careful examination of the fumigating bins, and discovered defects both of construction and of material by which the success of the fumigation might have been vitiated. Moreover, on turning my attention to the store itself, I found numerous slits in the boarding of the roof, by which any number of insect pests. might subsequently have entered. As a result, the pests increased to such an extent that further fumigation was urgently called for. Unfortunately the double fumi- gation affected the germinating powers of most of the seed, but I am confident that. if the operation could be carried out under favourable conditions in properly con- structed receptacles, and if the grain were kept subsequently in a well-made store, adequately ventilated, a single fumigation of the strength recommended would suffice to exterminate entirely all forms of the pests. At the suggestion of Mr. A. H. Kirby, the Assistant Director of Agriculture, and in collaboration with him, experiments were made as to the value of the fumigation of grain against insect pests with carbon dioxide. In default of more suitable apparatus, kerosene tins were filled with infested grain and carbon dioxide was driven in, the tins being then sealed. At the end of ten days the tins were ventilated and again sealed. The results were entirely satisfactory, no living pests being found months. later, and the germination percentage being very high. I wishtotake this opportunity of thanking Mr. Kirby for his very valuable suggestion. When tried on a larger scale in one of the bins the results were not so good, but I subsequently found a large crack in the floor by which the gas doubtless leaked out. prematurely. Insect Pests oF RUBBER. Para tubber plants were singularly free from insect attack, the only leaf-eater found being the omnivorous grasshopper, Zonocerus variegatus, which attacked young nursery plants, those that were not well shaded being far more damaged by these sun-loving pests than those which were more sheltered. The large cricket, Brachytrypes membranaceus, Drury, which sometimes fed on the roots of young plants, was responsible for a slight loss, but it was preyed on by the fossorial wasp, Chlorion xanthoceros, Illig., var. instabilis, Sm., which thus acts as a valuable natural check. Funtumia elastica is attacked by two Lepidopterous leaf-eaters, the larva of a species of Sphingid moth of the genus Nephele, which is much parasitised by Braconids, OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES, NIGERIA. 213 and the larva of the Pyralid leaf-roller, Glyphodes ocellata, Hmp., which is found especially on young plants. A borer, probably a beetle larva, is found occasionally at work towards the base of trees, tunnelling under the bark and causing an exudation of latex. Funtumia pods, when open, were found to contain a variety of insect pests. The larvae of the Pyralid moth, Entephria sexpunctalis, Hmp., were found tunneling whole rows of the seeds close to their attachment to the placenta, and the little beetles Berginus tamaricis, Woll., occurred in some numbers feeding on the seeds. Some of the pods were filled with almost incredible numbers of the Lygaeid bug, Arocatus continctus, Dist.,* the larvae of which were feeding on the seeds, the imagos being found in immense swarms under the leaves. | INsEcts ATTACKING GROUND-NUTS. These were fairly free from insect pests, the only leaf-eater found being the larva of the Psychid moth, Metisa sierricola, White, mentioned under cacao (Plate xxiii). The scale-insect, Ceronema africana, Macfie, was found abundantly on a few plants (Plate xxii). Insects ATTACKING BEANS. Young plants in July were much attacked by various species of beetles. Of these the Lagriids, Lagria villosa, F., and L. viridipennis, F., were responsible for large irregular holes in the leaves, while the Galerucid, Ootheca mutabilis, Sahlb., seemed. to limit its attention to the young shoots, eating half through the stem so that wither- ing took place. As this crop is grown in Nigeria only as green manure, and as Leguminous plants stand the action of insecticides badly, it was thought undesirable to use the spray on them, and so boys were instructed in the art of collecting the pests by means of light sweep nets, a method which was found to work satisfactorily. As showing the abundance of the pests it may be mentioned that 797 were obtained in two days by two small boys in this way. In early December, the height of the dry season, the two Lagriid beetles were found in great numbers, aestivating in the axils of a Bromeliaceous plant. In the store the bean seeds were to some extent attacked by an undetermined beetle of the genus Bruchus. Pests oF PIGEON PEa. Though this plant is of small economic importance in Nigeria, being grown only for the purpose of shading young cacao, it is of considerable importance as a food- plant in the East, and thus some study of the pests attacking it in Nigeria has seemed ° desirable. Moreover, as will be seen, several of the insects found on it are also injurious to cacao. The scale-insect, Ceronema africana, found also on ground-nut plants, was abundant (Plate xxiv, fig. 2). The Pseudococcus found on cacao (Plate xxi, fig. 2) was to be found here and there and another cacao scale, Stictococcus dimorphus, Newst. (Plate XXil), was very numerous. A species of Icerya (Plate xxiv, fig. 1) was also found from time to time. Leaf-eaters of many kinds were found and the seed also was attacked * For a figure of this species see p. 242. . (C86) a B . 214 ' 'W, A, LAMBORN.—AGRICULTURAL PESTS, NIGERIA. by various larvae, the chief of which were the larva of the Pterophorid moth, Maras- marcha atomosa, Wlsm., that often yielded Braconid parasites, and the larva of the Lycaenid butterfly, Lampides boetica, L., The latter, of the usual green onisciform type, was guarded by various ants, Camponotus akwapwmensis in particular, a group of which at the mouth of a tunnel in one of the pods invariably indicated the presence _ of the larva within. Larvae of another undetermined moth were also not uncommon, boring in the pods. : The gregarious froghopper, Ptyelus grossus, F., occurred both in the nymphal and imaginal states, feeding on the stems, which were so drained that frequently a constant stream of fluid trickled to the ground. InsEcts ATTACKING O1L PALMS. . A little weevil (Calandra oryzae, L.) was found in some numbers boring in an oil palm scorched by repeated bush fires. Evidence that it had reached living tissues was shown by the constant dripping of sap, which attracted a host of other insects, ants especially, but few of the pests could be obtained owing to the difficulty of getting’ them out of the hard tissues in which they had embedded themselves. : No other pests attacking oil palm were found in Nigeria, but it may be mentioned, in passing, that in the course of some entomological investigations on my way home, in late May, in Cotonou, Dahomey, weevils in almost incredible numbers were found feeding on the fresh male flowers of the palm, hundreds being taken in a few minutes.* Pests oF Sweet Porarto. No pests were found in the field other than the larva of the convolvulus hawkmoth, Herse convolvuli, L., which fed on the leaves. The tubers in the store were con- siderably attacked “ two species of weevils, Cylas brunneus, F., and C. puncticollis, Boh., all stages of which could be found in cavities in the SiSePiley (Plate xxv, fig. 1).. My thanks are due to Mr. G. A. K. Marshall, Director of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, for editing the proofs of these notes and for obtaining for me the identification of the majority of the insects mentioned. For the identification of most of the Lepidoptera I am indebted to Professor HE. B. Poulton, F.R.S. *(These weevils all belong to the genus Derelomus, there being no less than four species among them. The most abundant was D. kamerunicus, Fst., and the remaining three species appear to be undescribed.—ED. ] 7 VB fh . ‘ 7 iP * a j ee at 3 ~ 7%. oe vp a | . Vv 1 1* het j — - ; t ‘ ; F y , ipl MA ¥ ' 9% & ay at DW ty ate Ye Page 5 i ey; ih * 5 v u Wem ite : Pay. } yA ‘ a4 \ ey tat f ex sav? O VOTPAawd 14 ieae HOE ase FE ee tassrt yal wanna ' ~~ teen : 7 , . , HOE a. 21R OviO. & iV f ‘ ri i rei “y i ws ever r{ . 1% \ th ‘. m4 4 | Baty i PLE, ps) cane i i - t> i a ‘ La y. .{ ¥ . ; ; =: ; | ' rz, BANS f a i - pay} euiaed ‘ j , in a i yy . ¥ — . 7 hr kas ‘ 3 : ‘EAL LL. ‘ : - : ‘ rh ’ ie 4 sy! ee & ’ ry a ot #4 >) ay 5 “i - ba Wy iS. ‘ ie %, ‘awe > ey ‘4 Wr mh Yeh ¥ Uae vaeens F ey ee SP aia rams ; ' Ay te Das aap Pan . Fi a |e a ied 4 J " > (I Oo bo = = EXPLANATION OF PLaTE XVII. Sesamia calanustis, Hmp., p. 209. Eldana saccharina, Walk., p. 209. Busseola fusca, Hmp., p. 209. Metadrepana glauca, Hmp., p. 208. Mussidia nigrwenella, Rag., p. 209. Characoma stictigrapta, Hmp., p. 206. Eulophonotus myrmeleon, Feld., 3, p. 204. Duomitus armstrongi, Hmp., p. 245. Eulophonotus myrmeleon, Feld., 2, p. 204. Acrocercops bifasciata, Wism., p. 197. muee, ENT. RESEARCH. VoL. VY. PART 3. | PLATE XVII. INJURIOUS WEST AFRICAN MOTHS. Buti. ENT. RESEARCH. VoL. V. Part 3 Prate XVITI. Young Cotton Plant, showing Mines of Acrocercops bifasciata, Wlsm. a ony Nose ae PLATE XIX. RESEARCH. VoL. V. Part 8. Butt. EN1. ) ee eo = ’ wT a, = - ae | ‘ 4, ) & #2 Fn, i + -& j { j . af’ ra, hi cat aan ale iz: Sle < LAS 4 : ont Sil? | | Cassava Plants defoliated by Locusts (Zonocerus variegatus, EE. Buti. ENT. RESEARCH. VoL. V. Part 8. PLATE XX, Effects produced on young Cotton Plants by a Buprestid Stem-borer, Pseudagrilus sophore, L. Perey oe aca ad = JY Rae aah et ks fa var aay |S 7 P a ‘owoey uo snidosdjoegq "U0}10D UO S"4SMON ‘rUuOsyoR! BIAeUIAINd Z i ITXX aLlvid "6 LYYd “A ‘10A ‘HOUVASAY “LNA ‘1T1InNg But. ENT. RESEARCH. VoL. V. Part 3. PLATE XXII. Cacao Pods infested with Seale-Insects (Stictocoecus dimorphus, Newst.) which are being attended by Ants (Oecophylia). Butt. Ent. RESEARCH. VoL. VY. Part 3. PLATE XXIII. Ground-nuts (Arachis) attacked by Scale-Insects (@eronema africana, Macfie) ; at the top of the figure is a female Psychid Moth (Metisa sierricola, White) in its case, pairediwith a male, ue ee | cea. i y r ue ‘Bod uossig UO ‘aljoB| ‘BUBIIAfe BULIaUOAAD ‘g[B0S B8qg UOSSIg puB oBvoRD Bw ‘ds Bduaa/ G L ‘AIXX 3Lv1d 'e LUYG ‘A “TOA “HOUVESAY “LNA ‘11ng ‘snjzebaided sndaoouoz7 jo sisApoq [eury ‘sjIAseM seydg Aq poyoV}}e 078}0g JeeMS G L WX ALY ‘§€ LYVYd ‘A ‘1OA ‘“HOUVESSY ‘LNA “TING af i! Wes ey ; a be “A; heh ih &vete ek 4 OE Ik fe Gib ON THE PARASITIC ACARI FOUND ON THE SPECIES OF RODENTS FREQUENTING HUMAN HABITATIONS IN EGYPT. By Sranutey Hirst. (Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) The Acari dealt with in this paper were collected by Dr. G. F. Petrie during his plague investigations in Egypt. My best thanks are due to him and also to the authorities of the Lister Institute for their kindness in permitting me to examine this collection. Fig. 1. Dermanyssus muris, Hirst, 2; ventral and dorsal aspects. The species are few in number, but several of them are represented by very numerous specimens, including developmental stages of considerable importance. Three of them (Dermanyssus muris, Leiognathus bacoti, and Laelaps echidninus) are very widely distributed forms and it seems probable that rats (Mus rattus and M. norvegicus) are their principal hosts. L. bacoti is of exceptional interest, owing to the fact that it teadily attacks man. (C86) B2 216: STANLEY HIRST.—ON THE PARASITIC ACARI Family GamasIDat. I. Dermanyssus muris, Hirst (figs. 1-4). | Dermanyssus (Liponyssoides) muris, Hirst, Bull. Ent. Res. iv, pp. 120-122, text-figs. 1 and 2 (1913). Q. Dorsal shield and anal plate shaped very like those of D. gallinae, Redi, but the shield has long hairs on its surface instead of short ones. Sternal plate trapezoidal in shape and furnished with three pairs of long fine hairs. Genito-ventral plate much narrower, especially posteriorly, than is the case in D. gallinae; on either side of and parallel with this plate, there are two very narrow (linear) platelets, which are not very easy to see. A pair of little oval platelets are also present behind. each of the fourth coxae. Peritreme long, seemingly extending as far forwards as or slightly beyond the coxa of the second leg. Anterior surface of coxa of second leg armed dorsally with a sharp forwardly directed spur. Length of body (gorged specimen), 1°87 mm. Fig. 2. Dermanyssus muris, Hirst, f; ventral and dorsal aspects. — 3. Dorsal shield long and fairly wide, the posterior end being rounded (occasionally somewhat angular) instead of subtruncate as in the female ; at some distance from the anterior end of this shield, there is a pair of rather large eye-like organs on its surface and they are widely separated from one another, being placed close to the FOUND ON RATS IN EGYPT. 217 lateral margins. Sterno-ventral plate practically uniform in width posteriorly, the sides being almost straight ; it bears ten pairs of hairs and a single unpaired posterior hair on its surface. Behind each of the coxae of the last pair of legs there is a pair of platelets. Peritreme very long, apparently extending beyond the first coxa. Chelicera fairly long ; apparently the digits are fused together and they are accom- panied by a free slender process or flagellum, which is as long as the digits themselves and furnished with a sharp little tooth. Legs. Anterior surface of coxa of second leg armed with a tooth as in the female. Tarsi of third and fourth legs long and slender ; there is a little conical protuberance near the middle of the ventral surface of the distal part of these tarsi. Length of body, ‘95 mm. —— = . | aes ane - oF —_ Fig. 3. Dermanyssus muris, Hirst; ventral view of deutonymph. Deutonymph.* Dorsal shield closely resembling that of the female. On the side of the body above the proximal segments of the second leg there is a small but distinct oval plate. Sternal plate long; its posterior end is bluntly pointed and projects well beyond the last coxae, four (sometimes five ?) pairs of hairs are present on it; on each side of the posterior end of this plate, there are three minute platelets, but they are inconspicuous. A distinct bilobed platelet is also present *The deutonymph described above, and also those of the two other species of Dermanyssus described in this report, are probably females. 218 STANLEY HIRST.—ON THE PARASITIC ACARI behind each of the coxae of the last pair of legs. Peritreme extending forwards as far as the middle of the second coxa or slightly further. Anterior surface of coxa of second leg with a well-developed spur as in the adult female. Length of body, 1 mm. YL Tee = Fig. 4. Dermanyssus muris, Hirst ; ventral and dorsal aspects of protonymph. Protonymph. Principal dorsal shield very different in shape from that of the female and deutonymph. It is fairly large and rather wide, but has a narrow tail- like prolongation posteriorly ; hairs on its surface long, fine and not very numerous. Four minute and inconspicuous platelets are present on each side of the tail-like portion of it, those of the anterior pair being narrow and elongated, but those of the other three pairs much smaller and oval in shape. A rather small but distinct posterior dorsal shield, which is transversely elongated and somewhat recurved, is also present and bears 2-4 hairs. A little subcircular platelet is situated on the side of the body above the interval between the first and second legs and another very similar, but — almost ovate, platelet is situated slightly in advance of the anterior end of the peri- treme. Sternal plate fairly wide and reaching backwards to about the middle of the last coxae; it has three pairs of long fine hairs on it. There are three pairs of very minute and inconspicuous platelets posterior to the sternal plate and a distinct bilobed platelet behind each of the last coxae. . Peritreme very short. Anterior surface of coxa of second leg armed with a small but distinct spur. Length of body, ‘72 mm. FOUND ON RATS IN EGYPT. 219 The female, male and protonymph are described from both Oriental and Egyptian specimens, but the account of the deutonymph is based entirely on Egyptian material. Eeyrt: Assiit, specimens were on the following hosts :—(1) Several hundred specimens from Mus rattus, both in the town and on the feluccas; (2) one specimen found on Mus norvegicus; (3) a few specimens from Arvicanthis niloticus (in houses). Kous; a few specimens found on Mus rattus and one on Acomys. El Hasaiba, Deirfit; seven specimens found on Mus rattus. ARABIA: Sheik Othman; one specimen on a rat (species not determined) collected by Dr. Macrae and now in the collection of Mr. James Waterston. Inp1A: Madras, on Mus rattus. CEYLON: Colombo, on Mus rattus. 2. Dermanyssus sanguineus, sp. nov. (figs. 5-8). 2. Dorsal surface with two distinct shields, the posterior one being of small size. Anterior dorsal shield of moderate length and rather wide at the anterior end but Je wy Re PETE a WR - Me M BX \ —— Fi net ie! ES ei a _— —— cS a "til ee _— ad _———— a —~. 7 —— ( Fig. 5. Dermanyssus sanguineus, 2; ventral and dorsal aspects. narrower posteriorly, ending abruptly, the posterior extremity being fairly wide and somewhat rounded ; hairs on this shield fairly long. Posterior dorsal shield almost ovate in shape and always furnished with a pair of fairly long hairs. Sternal plate 220 STANLEY HIRST.—ON THE PARASITIC ACARI practically trapezoidal in shape; although considerably wider than long, its length is much greater as compared with the width than is the case in D. aegyptius ; there are three pairs of hairs on its surface. Gento-ventral plate narrow and long, extending backwards far beyond the last coxae. There are three inconspicuous platelets on each side of this plate, those of the anterior pair being elongated. Anal plate long oval in shape, as in D. aegyptius. Two minute platelets are present posterior to (and somewhat to the side of) each of the coxae of the fourth legs. Peritreme extend- ing as far forwards as or slightly beyond the middle of the coxa of the second leg. Anterior surface of coxa of second leg without a spur. Length of body of distended specimen, 1°4 mm. fy /7 WM n\X KY Ge ai: Fig. 6. Dermanyssus sanguineus, Hirst, 3; ventral and dorsal aspects. 3. Dorsal shield wide anteriorly but progressively narrowed posteriorly, the terminal part of it being quite narrow and the extreme end blunt; a number of hairs of moderate length are present on this shield, including a pair at the posterior end. A pair of structures somewhat resembling the eye-like structures of D. muris are present in the same position on the dorsal shield, but they are irregular in shape and much less conspicuous. Sferno-ventral plate with the sides not so straight as in D. muris, and narrowed so as to form a distinct neck in front of the slightly FOUND ON RATS IN EGYPT. 221 enlarged anal portion; eight pairs of hairs and the usual unpaired posterior hair are present on this plate. Peritreme rather short, apparently not reaching as far forwards as the middle of the second coxa (?), but its supporting plate proceeds a little further forwards. Tarsi of third and fourth legs long and slender; the conical projection on their ventral surface is situated in practically the same position as in D. muris. Chelicera closely resembling that of D. muris, a long accessory flagellum being present. Length of body, ‘7 mm. Fig. 7. Ventral view of deutonymph of Dermanyssus sanguineus, Hirst. Deutonymph.. Dorsal shields very similar to those of the female. A small circular or sub-circular platelet is situated above the interval between the first and second legs. Sternal plate projecting backwards well beyond the last coxae and its end rather sharply pointed; it has four pairs of hairs on it. Immediately behind the sternal plate, there are three pairs of very minute and inconspicuous platelets. A pair of platelets placed close together are also present just behind each of the last coxae. Peritreme short, the tubular part of it, apparently, only reaching a little in front of the third coxa, but it is continued forwards by its chitinous shield, which almost reaches the middle of the second coxa. Length of body, °7 mm. 2a STANLEY HIRST.—ON THE PARASITIC ACARI Protonymph. Principal dorsal shield very like that of the same stage of D. muris. Four pairs of minute lateral platelets very similar in appearance to those present in. D. muris can also be made out, but the posterior ones are very minute and difficult to see. The small postervor shield bearing two hairs is not quite so elongated as in the female or deutonymph. Sternal shield about as long as that of the protonymph of D. muris, but with only three pairs of hairs. Peritreme very short. Length of body, ‘52 mm. Fig. 8. Dorsal view of protonymph of Dermanyssus sanguineus, Hirst. Keyvet: Assitit: (1) Numerous specimens found on Mus ratius in the town and a few on the same host on the feluccas there ; (2) ten specimens from Arvicanthis niloticus (in houses) ; (3) one specimen from Acomys cahirinus. El Hasaiba, Deiriit ; twelve specimens from Mus rattus. Kous; three specimens from Mus rattus. | er 3. Dermanyssus aegyptius, Hirst (figs. 9-11). Dermanyssus (Liponyssoides) aegyptius, Hirst, Bull. Ent. Res. iv, p. 122: (1913). Q. Two shields are present on the dorsal surface as in D. sangwineus, sp. n., ‘but the posterior one is minute and i inconspicuous. Anterior dorsal shield long and narrow ; posteriorly it is very much reduced in width, being practically linear (this part of the scutum is shown a little too wide in fig. 9), but the extreme end is very slightly enlarged again; hairs on this shield fairly long. Two minute and very narrow FOUND ON RATS IN EGYPT. 223 (linear) platelets can sometimes be distinguished on each side of this shield, but they are difficult to see. Posterior dorsal shield minute and without any hairs on its sur- face ; its outline presents a close resemblance to a butterfly, four lobes or wings. being visible. Sternal plate very much wider than long and with only two pairs of hairs ; immediately behind it, however, there is a pair of small but distinct platelets, each of which bears a very long fine hair similar to those on the sternal plate. Genito- ventral plate narrow and long, projecting far beyond the last coxae, and its posterior Fig. 9. Dermanyssus aegyptius, Hirst, 9; ventral and dorsal aspects. end sharply pointed ; it is furnished with the usual pair of hairs. On each side of this plate there are two very narrow elongated platelets as in D. muris, but they are ‘very inconspicuous. There is also a pair of platelets behind each of the coxae of the last pair of legs. Anal plate long oval in shape. Peritreme extending about as as far forwards as the middle of the coxa of the second leg. Legs more slender than is the case in D. muris. Anterior surface of coxa of second leg without a spur. Length of body (gorged specimen), 1°9 mm. 224 STANLEY HIRST.—ON THE PARASITIC ACARI Deutonymph. Dorsal shields both closely resembling those of the female. Two or three platelets are situated on each side of the anterior shield. A small but distinct platelet is placed above the interval between the first and second legs and it is narrow and elongated instead of being oval as in the deutonymph of D. muris. Sternal plate projecting backwards distinctly beyond the last coxae; three pairs of hairs are present on it. Peritreme rather short, and apparently not reaching as far as the middle of the second coxa.. Length of body, 1:1 mm. Fig. 10. Ventral view of deutonymph of Dermanyssus aegyptius, Hirst. Protonymph. Dorsal shields very like those of the adult and deutonymph; the posterior tail-like prolongation of the main shield is much narrower than is the case in the protonymphs of D. muris and D. sanguineus; four minute platelets are ~ situated on each side of this part of the shield, those of the two anterior pairs being elongated, but the posterior ones are oval and they are very minute and incon- spicuous. There are two little platelets on the side of the body; the anterior one is situated as in the deutonymph, and the other is in front of the anterior end of the peritreme. Sternal plate extending backwards beyond the middle of the last FOUND ON RATS IN EGYPT. 925 eoxae and furnished with three pairs of hairs. A minute platelet is situated behind each of the coxae of the last pair of legs. Peritreme very short. Length of body, ‘61-7 mm. | Eeypt: Assiit; specimens found. on the following hosts :—(1) Over three hundred specimens taken on Acomys cahirinus in the town and a few on the feluccas ; (2) a large number of specimens on Mus rattus in the town and a few on the feluccas ; (3) three specimens from Mus norvegicus (on feluceas); (4) Arvicanthis niloticus (in houses), eight specimens. El Weladie; thirteen specimens (name of host not given). Kous; afew specimens found on Acomys cahirinus. Fig. 11. Dorsal view of protonymph of Dermanyssus aegyptius, Hirst. 4. Leiognathus bacoti, Hirst (figs. 12-14). Lewognathus bacoti, Hirst, Bull. Ent. Res. iv, p. 122 (1918). Q. The original description of the female of this species is fairly complete and therefore only a few additional details are given here :—Two elongated platelets are placed symmetrically on each side of the genito-ventral plate. Anterior surface of coxa of first leg with the upper angle projecting and dentiform. Anterior surface of coxa of second leg armed distally with a distinct spine, but, owing to its position, this spine is not always easy to see. Peritreme reaching far forwards ; its supporting plate ends anteriorly in a lancet-shaped expansion situated on the dorso-lateral surface of the body above the interval between the first and second coxae. (The 226 STANLEY. HIRST.—ON THE PARASITIC ACARI tubular part of the peritreme appears to vary in length in mounted preparations of this and other Gamasid mites, but I think that this is merely due to the fact that this tube can only be readily seen for its full length when filled throughout with air.) Length.of body (distended specimen), ‘95 mm. 7 d. Dorsal shield almost as wide and long as the body, but leaving a narrow lateral strip of unprotected integument (except anteriorly); hairs on its dorsal surface rather long and fine; a longitudinal series of paired hairs runs down the middle, those of the last pair being placed close together at the end ; there are a few other symmetrically arranged hairs near the middle and also a lateral series. Sternal plate Fig. 12. Leiognathus bacoti, Hirst, 9; ventral and dorsal aspects. long, narrow, and furnished with eight or nine pairs of long hairs and the usual un- paired posterior hair; it is slightly narrowed before the anal portion. Pervireme extending as far forwards as the anterior surface of the coxa of the second leg or some- what further. Fingers of chelicera short and difficult to make out. Length of body, 43 mm. Protonymph. Anterior dorsal. shield of moderate size and provided with twenty — hairs (arranged as shown in fig. 14), all of them being long, except those of the first pair. Posterior dorsal shield situated at the extreme end of the body and furnished FOUND ON RATS IN EGYPT. 227 with three pairs of long hairs, those of the anterior pair, however, are often consider- ably shorter than the others; one or two pairs of exceedingly minute and incon- spicuous hairs may also be present on this shield, in addition to the long ones. Between these two principal shields there are two pairs of minute intermediate plate- lets, those of the anterior pair being the larger; there are three central pairs of hairs on this unprotected part of the dorsal surface, the first pair being placed between the anterior pair of intermediate platelets; lateral hairs are also present. There is a minute platelet in front of the anterior end of the peritreme and another more | iy Lid = “eS Fig. 13. Leiognathus bacoti, Hirst; dorsal view of male. elongated platelet above the second coxa Sternal plate reaching backwards as far as the anterior surface of the last coxae, or slightly further, and furnished with three pairs of long fine hairs. Anterior end of anal plate practically straight. Peritreme short and curved. Length of body, :4 mm. The description of the male of Leiognathus bacoti is based on Australian specimens, no others being available, but females and nymphs from Egypt, Australia, and South America have been carefully compared with one another ; I cannot find any difference between examples from these widely separated localities. 228 STANLEY HIRST.—ON THE PARASITIC ACARI Heyer: Assitit town (on Mus norvegicus, M. rattus and Acomys cahirinus); and also on the feluccas at Assifit on the same hosts; most of the specimens were found on Mus norvegicus, which is apparently the principal host of this parasite. Apyssinia: Harar; numerous specimens collected by G. Kristensen on Mus sp., 2. 1. 1912, and presented to the British Museum by the Hon. N. Charles Rothschild. | t RN Fig. 14. Leiognathus bacoti, Hirst; dorsal view of protonymph. AUSTRALIA: (1) Specimens found on human beings and on the walls in a boot factory at Sydney, New South Wales; also others found in a rat’s nest in the same factory. (2) Specimens found on walls of a seed shop at Sydney (biting human beings) and on a rat caught in this shop; the mites attacked the workers in these establishments, setting up very considerable irritation of the skin. (3) Specimens found on human beings at Perth, Western Australia, 2. xii. 1908. (4) Specimens. biting at night on the wharves, Fremantle, Western Australia. All these Australian examples of this mite were sent to the Museum (except those from Perth, which were sent to the Quick Laboratory, Cambridge) by Dr. J. Burton Cleland; my best thanks are due to him for his kindness in sending me these specimens for examination. SourH America: Numerous examples found by Dr. E. Giacomelli on a rat at La Rioja, Argentine, March 1912; presented to the British Museum by the Hon. N. Charles Rothschild. FOUND ON RATS IN EGYPT. 229 Leiognathus bacoti is apparently closely allied to L. sawrarum, Oudms., and to L. musculinus, C. LL. Koch. The female of L. sawrarum has its dorsal shield shaped very like that of L. bacoti, but the hairs on it are differently arranged, only a single pair of short hairs being present near the posterior end of the shield, instead of several rather long pairs as in L. bacott. The protonymph of L. musculinus (as figured by Oudemans, Tijdschr. Nederland. Dierk. Ver. (2) vii, pl. 8, figs. 19 and 20, etc., 1902) presents a very close resemblance to that stage of L. bacoti, especially as regards the shape of the little posterior dorsal shield and the number of hairs on it; the female of L. musculinus is very different, however, from that of L. bacoti, being furnished with two dorsal shields instead of one. 5. Laelaps echidninus, Berl. Eeyer: Assiiit; thirty-two specimens captured on Mus norvegicus and three on Mus rattus alexandrinus on the feluccas. This species is probably cosmopolitan. Family ARGASIDAE. 6. Argus persicus, Fischer. Eeyet: Assiit; a nymph and two larvae found on Mus rattus, and two distended larvae found on Arvicanthis niloticus (in houses). 7. Ornithodorus erraticus, Lucas. Keyrt: Assiit; about fifty specimens (nymphs and larvae) found on Mus rattus, and a nymph and a larva from the same host on the feluccas ; three nymphs and six larvae from Arvicanthis niloticus. El Hasaiba, Deirtitt ; three nymphs and one larva from Mus rattus. The specimens listed above seemingly belong to Ornithodoros erraticus. There are no lateral expansions to the camerostome, but the body has a projection above the mouth-parts as in O. talaje var. capensis, Nn. Dorsal] surface furnished with numerous distinct but very fine granules; discs obsolete or absent. Eyes apparently absent. Family Ixop1pae. 8. Rhipicephalus sp. Eeypt: Assiit; a large number of nymphs and larvae from Acomys cahirinus and also fifteen from Mus rattus. (C86) Cc at in inane Fk “i l as Te yy ie 10fra# Wave ent €# 3 \ tr, ° yorkre4 * ay Mt 4? fag rirait ‘en weer fo depnryiood foals a ve: tee OE vee Pe Alhe ‘iy ¢* ’ 4 = Ee wep 4 : ¢ ad j ' 114 ; bs BP telah iy) mi f ih ae " 3 - < f ‘ steel 7 f MS wh ES t Ate P P i fe : bi ‘ j 4 d Weg ’ } é j ul iia Bog hs Es i. | 2 tt. é ‘i é : i ( . é ‘ , ? ‘ Te peu eee a7 he 4 is “ia Qik ise — | oO ; eae eee @ y. wy eye’ wig iver ¢ ‘ 19 (OORRER os ie ee ms) 231 REMARKS ON A SMALL COLLECTION OF COCCIDAE FROM ' NORTHERN AUSTRALIA. By EK. Ernest GREEN, F.E.S. The material under consideration was collected by Mr. G. F. Hill, Government Entomologist, at, or in the neighbourhood of, Port Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It consists principally of cosmopolitan species, two only being peculiar to the country. Aspidiotus (Chrysomphalus) fodiens, Mask. “On Pithecolobium moniliferum; Darwin, N. T., 1. u. 1914.” The insects are densely massed on the under surface of the leaves and occur— though not in quite such large numbers—on the upper surface also. Male and female puparia are mingled together in approximately equal numbers. I have no hesitation in determining this insect as fodiens, though it is remarkable that the infested leaves show no indication of the “ pitting” described by Maskell as characteristic of the species, which derives its name, indeed, from this very pecu- liarity. All the structural characters of the insect itself are in close agreement both with Maskell’s somewhat loose diagnosis and with Leonardi’s more careful description _ (said to have been drawn up from typical examples). Maskell’s figures are unfor- tunately quite unreliable, the different parts being represented out of all due proportion to each other. But one character to which he particularly draws attention (even exaggerating it in his figure) is a strongly developed acuminate marginal prominence on each side of the pygidium, just outside the last fimbriate squame. This prominence is particularly well marked in the present examples (vide fig. 1). Leonardi’s figure—otherwise admirable—does not sufficiently accentuate this feature. Fig. 1.