34 



lllTlNCi ASM) NOXIors INSKCTS OTHKIt THAN MOSQl'ITOES 



art' till' true pt'sts, iiiul arc (ifti-ii very aiinoyiiijj; at iiiglit. I?y slf('])in}^ on the rmif one usually 

 entirely avoids tlicin, but tliry ha\iut vt-randalis ami IhmI-i-oouis, cspcL-ially wluTe tlicri' art- 

 gardens in close proximity. They prol)al)ly lined amongst decaying vegetation. The 



Ceratopogon goinis C'enitojioiiDit containing biting flics nf tlic midgt! family {('/linmoiiiiiUe) is also 

 represented ami the.se insects are apt to lie confused with the owl-itiidgcs above- 

 mentioned, as those which breed on land have hairy wings. I have often heard the sharp, 

 short, moS(juito-like ping which they are said to emit when settling and recently have secured 

 specimens. 



True sand Hies, the •*>/"///"//(/(/'■, are, however, not lacking in the Sudan. The first t saw- 

 was .sent by Colonel Talbot from Abu llamed, where at times it is a veritable terror. It is 



The • Kumei." knywn US the " Kunteb " and bites fiercely, though, fortunately, not dunng the niglit. It 



Simulidae 

 Sand Hies 



The'Nimetla" 



Fig. 13. —Owl MlnCH(x I2di.-i 



Fig. !4."-Owl Midgr. 



Khartoum. 



Stomach gorged with blood. 



will follow its unfortunate victim several miles back from the river und renders out-door 

 work impossible. The species has been identified by Mr. Austen as .S. (l<tt>iiio.'<inii, Theob. p. 'y2. 



Another species is the well-known Xlinrftd or Xfimtti of Dongola, concerning which 

 the following notes have reached me from the Jludir of Berber : — 



" It occurs in January, February, Marcli and April. It extends from Salamanieh, north 

 of Berya, to the Berti boundary of tlie Dongola Provinie on the river. It lives near the 

 river and is not found at a greater distance from it than half a mile. It bites from sunrise 

 to sunset, attacking any part of man or beast unprotected by hair or clothes. Human beings 

 are chiefly bitten on the face and hands, animals in the region of the pmlenda. Its luceding 

 habits are unknown. It is most virulent between the extreme cold of the winter and the 

 great heat of the summer. The hot weather kills these flies off in thousands, and finally 

 extinguishes them. On very cold days they are not aggressive." Its habits, therefore, 

 appear to be mmh the same as those of S. colnmhuxchiiwix, the annoying " Kolumbatz fly " 

 of Hungary.* 



A large number of these flies were sent me, but they had been placed iu u bottle with 



• Uraun. Animal ramsites of Man, 3rd VA., 190C, p. 432. 



