345 



FAMILY TABANIDiE. 



(March Flies.) 



Tliese flies have a fleshy proboscis and pointed 

 stylets. They are blood-sucking insects. The head 

 is Avell separated from the thorax and truncate (cut 

 oft* abruptly) at the back : this is characteristic. The 

 abdomen is usually broad and flat. The -antennai 

 vary, but do not have a terminal bristle. 



Life history. The eggs are laid by tlie mother 

 tabanid in water or on reeds oi- stones near the 

 water. They are usually in clusters of hundreds, 

 and the young fall into the water and feed on small 

 water creatures. Others lay eggs on damp soil or in 

 marshy places, and these larvae may have spine-likij 

 processes on the under-side of the body, by means of 

 which they can push themselves through the mud, 

 etc. 



The pupa is free, having no puparium or larval 

 skin enclosing it. The adult escapes by a T-shaped 

 slit. 



These march or marsh-flies are very troublesome 

 in summer, particularly on the mountains and in 

 the country. They fly quietly and rather slowly 

 when approaching one, and tliey are most persistent 

 in their attempts to alight. We caught seventeen 

 in one hour by just sitting still undei* a tree in an 

 orchard on the mountains during mid-summer and 

 awaiting their attacks. Their bite is very irritating, 



