178 The Philippine Journal of Science 1919 
has been given by Cragg,” who also describes 2? the mouth parts 
of Lyperosia minuta Bezzi, which is related to our species. 
BUFFALO GNATS 
The black flies (Simuliide) are represented in the Philippines 
only in the mountains, where they are extremely annoying to 
travelers, getting into their eyes, nostrils, and ears, and severely 
biting any exposed portions of their bodies. They are some 
times called buffalo gnats, fs their former abundance on 
the plains of the United States where the buffalo, or bison 
(Bison americanus), once roamed. A few specimens of the 
genus Simulium in the Government collection were taken on 
one of the peaks of Canlaon Volcano, Occidental Negros, in 
1906. This genus seems to be of world-wide distribution, and 
its ill favor in Europe and America is well warranted by the 
damage it does.?* ; 
MIDGES 
The midges (Chironomid) are abundant in the Philippines, 
where the genus Culicoides, represented by C. judicandus 
Bezzi, is one of the commonest and most annoying pests in 
provincial regions. It is very persistent at certain times of 
the year, especially in Los Bafios, where the mountain streams 
undoubtedly supply its breeding places. According to de 
Meijere,** Jacobson in Java found that its bite does not disturb 
sleeping persons or cause a subsequent itching, but certainly 
this is not the case in these Islands. He further states that 
these insects are to be found in chicken houses at night, where 
they cause great unrest among the fowls. A white hen was 
noticed with the feathers covered with drops of blood drawn 
by these midges. It was further observed that at Samarang, 
Java, they were most abundant during the times of heaviest 
rainfall. This coincides with observations made in the Phil- 
ippines; the year 1917 was unusually rainy, and these little 
pests were extremely abundant at that time. Their small size 
and mottled wings serve as a protection when they alight on 
the bare arm or leg of a person, and they readily enter mos- 
quito nets where, like the nicnic, they congregate in the upper 
“Sci. Mem. Of. Med. & San. Corps, Govt. of India (1912), No. 54 
(N. S.). 
™Tbid. (1913), No. 59 (N. 8.). 
* Williston, S. W., North American Diptera, 2d ed. New Haven (1908), 
146. 
“ Tijdsch. voor Ent. (1909), 52, 195. 
