310 SUNDRY INSECTS 



our beautiful English species. One fine, abundant species 

 is blood red, and another is vividly coloured with cobalt 

 blue and red, but there are many dull species. One of 

 these,^ the commonest of all, may be seen on the wing 

 before sunrise and after sunset, and on one occasion on 

 Kerenge Island I saw a host of them about sunrise, 

 dancing up and down in the air just as Mayflies do 

 in England. 



The large species of Dragon flies often prey on the 

 smaller, as well as on bees and other protected insects. 

 I have seen Cacergates preying on Glossina, and since 

 both large and small Dragon flies are favourite articles 

 of food of the bee-eater Merops super ciliosus, the 

 bionomic relation of this bird to the Tse-tse fly is rather 

 a complicated one ! 



A curious Neuropterous insect named Bittacus was 

 attracted to light several times on the islands ; it is a 

 slender light brown species with narrow wings and very 

 long slender legs. On the first occasion I thought it 

 was a Tipulid, and did not take much notice until some- 

 thing about it made me look more closely, and I saw it 

 was not a " Daddy longlegs," but had four wings. 



If there was any reason for supposing the TipuUdae 

 to be protected one might consider the Bittacus to mimic 

 the fly ; but there seems no reason for supposing that 

 a resemblance to a " Daddy longlegs " would be of any 

 benefit. 



A remarkable genus of Neuroptera is named Mantispa. 

 These insects resemble Mantidae, and have the fore limbs 

 modified in the same manner for holding the prey, which 

 they devour alive. Several of them very deceptively 

 resemble Hymenopterous insects. On Kome, one day, 

 I saw on a twig an insect that at first appeared to be 

 one of the abundant, conspicuous and fiercely stinging 

 wasps of the genus Belonogaster. It was munching at 



^ Cacergates leucosticta. 



