208 PROCEEDINGS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



various shrubs or trees which are not their regular hosts and never 

 oviposit on them. He more especially referred to the Locust 

 Hispa (Chalepus dorsalis); the Tecoma Hispa (Octotoma plicatula); 

 the Strawberry Rust borer (Typophorus canellus); the Grape- 

 vine Flea-beetle (Haltica chalybea). Many other cases of this 

 kind could be cited. 



NOTES ON HORSEFLIES AS A PEST IN SOUTHERN 



FLORIDA. 



BY T. E. SNYDER, 

 Bureau of Entomology. 



On a recent trip down the east coast of southern Florida I 

 was particularly impressed with the abundance of and annoyance 

 caused to both man and beast by horseflies. Early in the morn- 

 ing of May 12, 1916, while riding on the train (Florida East Coast 

 R. R.), between Jacksonville and Miami, Florida, quite a large 

 species of Tabanus entered the train through open doors and 

 windows, in sufficient numbers to cause considerable annoyance 

 to the passengers in the cars. This species (as were all the other 

 species of flies) was identified by Mr. C. T. Greene as Tabann* 

 trijunctus Walker. This fly was apparent^ attracted to the 

 moving train and individuals frequently lit on the window screens 

 of the pullman cars. This tabanid, which has conspicuous 

 greenish to purplish eyes, when living, was later found to be ex- 

 tremely common from Hobe Sound (about 35 miles north of 

 Palm Beach) to Paradise Key, Florida (about 40 miles south of 

 Miami on the mainland). 



On May 17 on Jupiter Island, at Hobe Sound, Florida, painters 

 in working on a building found it necessary to use portable smudges 

 of slow-burning smoke-producing material in metal receptacles, 

 in order to work either on the exterior or interior of the house. 



In buildings, especially stables, this fly and another species 

 (Tabanus lineola Fabr.) were present in large numbers, and 

 usually the dead flies are swept up off the floor and thrown away 

 each day. 



The horses and mules are protected by covering them with 

 close-fitting gunny sacking with holes cut for the eyes, remind- 

 ing one of the cow that fell into the lime pit in "Cranford." 

 These animals would not stand still without this covering, since 

 the flies would swarm over them and the body becomes covered 

 with blood. They can be swept oft the bodies of uncovered horses 

 by the hands-full. Horses and mules with only the head coveied, 



