Jan., '08] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 3! 



the adult winged state they sometimes come in such numbers 

 as to darken the sun. The blacks may then be seen running 

 back and forth over their plantations in the hope of saving 

 their crops from the voracious marauders. At night these 

 locusts (native name "Olohuma") settle on trees and shrubs, 

 sometimes in such numbers as to almost cover them, and they 

 may fly so closely together that a certain number break their 

 wings by striking their fellows and therefore fall helpless to 

 the ground. The insects are eaten by lizards, small mammals 

 and birds, especially a sort of plover, Glarcola nordnmnni, 

 which apparently follows and feeds entirely on locusts. The 

 native Africans, too, are very fond of them when roasted. 

 They also kill them by dropping them into boiling water and 

 then dry and store them away for future use. I have found 

 a considerable per cent, of these locusts infested with a long 

 thin nematode embryo (Gordius sf>.}. On one occasion, too, 

 I found enormous numbers dying on the ground. I examined 

 a number but could not discover the cause of their fate. 



II. 



No. 626. ? Drihts sp. (Coleopt.) 



A member of the Malacodermata (imago unknown) which 

 I have repeatedly tried in vain to breed out. The larva is com- 

 mon, but in captivity dies without pupating. The grub is 

 called by the natives "Ochisia," which is equivalent to Noli me 

 tongcrc! It is greatly feared, because if one steps on it with 

 bare feet the bristles with which it is armed pierce the thick 

 skin of the sole and work into the flesh, causing pain, inflam- 

 mation and even sloughing. One may hear a whole caravan 

 of porters warning each other that there is an "Ochisia" in the 

 path. 



12. 



No. 537. Auchmeromyia httcola Fabr. (Dipt.) 

 This fly (the larva of which has been somewhat unfortu- 

 nately designated as the "Congo" Floor Maggot) is an im- 

 portant human ectoparasite, widespread in Africa, living en- 

 tirely in its larval state, so far as is known, on human blood. 



