called Oistros and Asilus by the Ancients. 357 



Messrs. Kirby and Spence in their Introduction to Entomology 

 think that the ancient Myops was some species of Latreiile's genus 

 Tabanus, and that the (Estrus of the Greeks may either have been 

 a Pangonia or a Nemestrina. What we know, however, of the lat- 

 ter genus answers in no one respect to the description above given 

 of the ancient (Estrus, which certainly was an insect allied to 

 the modern Tabanus ; whereas Nemestrina has no immediate 

 connexion with it either in economy or structure. Besides, no 

 Nemestrina has ever yet been found in Europe. The argu- 

 ment for Pangonia is rather stronger, as this is not only an Eu- 

 ropean genus, but one nearly allied to Tabanus. Aristotle how- 

 ever says, that his (Estrus and Myops have both a strong tongue 

 (<V;^^y^ai' yXurrut 'iyfivfft) ; a description in perfect accord with the 

 mouth of a modern Tabanus, but quite at variance with the long, 

 weak and flexible proboscis of Pangonia, which can scarcely be 

 supposed capable of piercing the hide of an ox. Olivier and 

 Latreille indeed both state, that the long trunk of Pangonia, 

 like that of Bombylius, only serves for sucking flowers. But to 

 insects that suck flowers Aristotle expressly places his ol'a-r^og in 

 opposition. 



It is rather interesting to remark the manner in which the 

 early modern naturalists viewed this subject. Mouftet's opi- 

 nion is, as far as I can make it out, the same with mine given 

 above. At all events he considers the fji^vaip of the Greeks to be 

 our HcBmatopota pluvialis. Ray, on the other hand, considers 

 this insect to be the o'la-T^og, as we may judge from the following 

 description, " Musca bipennis Qistrum dicta, alis membrana- 

 ceis punctis crebris nigrioribus velut adspersis :" which is clearly 

 the Hamatopota. 



Valisnieri appears to have been the first naturalist of any repute 

 who took the modern (Estrus to be that of Virgil, while Martyn 

 and other commentators seem to have adopted his opinion. The 



3 A 2 first 



