i;i;roi;i' ()!•' 'I'lii'; ioN'r().M(ii,()(a('Ai. suction I i.'i 



ot some InuuU'uds ot spucimons of the various {onus of this labaniil has Iccl me to Ijclicvu 

 that the name T. v<iriati(!! must l)o sunk as a synonym of 7'. twuiola. T. variatun has 

 been distinguished from T. Iiviiinln by the median dorsal abdominal stripe which is 

 present in both forms but which in T. varialns consists of a series of complete triangles with 

 their apices pointing forward. In T. heniola it consists of either a clear stripe of varying 

 widths in dili'erent specimens or a series of truncated triangles. Flies can bo taken 

 sliowing every gradation between the two extremes of a narrow even white stripe and 

 a series of complete triangles, and one not infrequently meets with a specimen which — if 

 the name T. van'ntKs holds good — may be determined as belonging to either species. The 

 two forms exist together in the same localities, though usually in any given locality one 

 form is more common than the other. For these reasons, therefore, I have included the 

 form known as T. variatns, Walker, under the name of T. txniola, Pal. de Beauv. 



A Hy wliich should possiljly be included in tlie above list is an asilid — I'l-ohiackus 

 sp. nov. A specimen was taken by Mr. J. King in October, 1909, at Nahud, Kordofan 

 Province, and sent to these laboratories with a note that it had attempted to suck blood 

 from his hand. Only slight inflammation resulted from the puncture it made. It is, of 

 course, possible that this species lives mainly upon the blood of mammals but more 

 probably its normal diet is the body-juices of insects. 



The notes on the bionomics of Tahannn par, Walker, T. tieniola, Pal. de Beauv., 

 T. ditssniatus, Macq., T. hiiiyi, Austen, T. camelariua , Austen, and T. nwnla.c, .\usten, 

 have appeared in the Bidlcthi of Eidoiuuloyical Research. 



TaliWHidi caiiielarius, Austen 

 Plate II., figs. 3, i 



Uii.llrliii nf Eiiluniohyiml Jlrsmrrh, Vol. II., Part i (1911) 



^ ^. — Length, ^ (1 specimen) 12'5 nun., '^ (2 specimens) 11'6 to 12'8 mm. ; width of /«/■.;«/« 

 bead, J* 4'25 mm., $ 3"75 to just under 4 mm. ; width of front of '■^ at vertex 0'6 mm. ; " ' ' 

 length of wing, ^ 8-75 mm., $ 8-25 to 8-4 mm. 



Somewhat narrow-bodied, elongate species ; dorsum of thorax mouse-grey in J, blackish 

 slate-coloured in '^, and in both sexes longitudinally striped with light grey, though less 

 distinctly in ^ than in ^ ; dorsum of abdomen dark brown in ^, clove-brown or blackish- 

 brown in ^, and in both sexes with three longitudinal stripes, which are smoke-grey in $ and 

 whitish-grey in ^ ; one stripe is median and continuous ; midway between this and the lateral 

 margin on each side is a stripe, which is largely composed of disconnected, longitudinally 

 elongate spots; venter light grey, with a broad, blackish, longitudinal stripe, interrupted 

 on hind margins of segments and in $ very conspicuous, in ? much less distinct and 

 inconspicuous unless viewed from behind; femora slate-grey, with a whitish-grey bloom, 

 tibiie partly cream-buff, front tarsi entirely black, middle and hind tarsi blackish-brown, 

 except proximal two-thirds of first joints, which are cream-buff. 



This species is allied to and superficially resembles Tahanus gratus, Lw., from which, 

 however, it is distinguishable by, among other characters, the paired abdominal stripes, 

 which, instead of being continuous, are broken up into disconnected spots after the second 



segment. 



Tahanus vwrdax, Austen 



Plate II., fig. 5 



BiiUHiii of Enfnmnloiiicnl Jii'scarch, Veil. II., Tart 2 (I'Jll) 



^. — Length (5 specimens) 12 to 15-4 mm. ; width of head 3'75 to 5 mm. ; width of Talianiis 

 front at vertex just under 1 mm. to 1 nnn. ; length of wing 8'2 to 10'4 mm. """^ ""' 



H 



