68 



Brandt (F. K.). Revision of Veterinary Report for the Year 1916. — 



Nigeria Ann. Rept. Agric. Dept. Northern Provinces for 1916, 

 Lagos, 1917, pp. 7-10. [Received 28tli January 1918.] 



Tr3rpanosomiasis was very prevalent in the southern part of the 

 Northern Provinces, the trypanosomes varying considerably in viru- 

 lence. Tsetse-flies were found on the streams on some ranches and cattle 

 moved there contracted trypanosomiasis during the rainy season. 



Froggatt (W. W.). " Policemen Flies." Fossorial Wasps that catch 

 Flies. — Agric. Gaz. N.S.W., Sydney, xxviii, no. 9, 3rd September 

 1917, pp. 667-669, 2 figs. [Received 28th January 1918.] 



Fossorial wasps are predaceous on small flies, especially Musca 

 autumnalis (corvina). They have also been noticed in sheep-yards 

 picking ofE Chrysomyia (CallipJiora) varipes from the soiled wool on 

 sheep's backs. Three species that are known to have this habit are 

 Stizus turneri, sp. n., common all over the western districts of New 

 South Wales, and found burrowing in a sand-drift left by river flood 

 waters in February ; Stizus sp. a widely distributed species, that has 

 frequently been recorded as catching flies on the fleece of sheep ; and 

 Nysson sp., which has the same distribution and habits as the two 

 previous ones. 



Leake (J. P.). Winter Outbreak of Poliomyelitis. Elkins, W. Va., 

 1916-17. — U.S. Public Health Repts., Washington, D.C, xxxii, 

 no. 48, 30th November 1917, pp. 1995-2015, 5 charts, 1 table. 



In the course of the investigations into the cause of the winter 

 outbreak of poliomyelitis at Elkins, the conclusion was reached that 

 summer insects did not play any necessary role in the spread of the 

 disease. Careful watch revealed only a few rather sluggish house-flies 

 and other non-biting flies, while mosquitos were seen out of doors on 

 three days, but Stomoxys calcitrans was never found, though stables, 

 manure piles and suimy walls were searched repeatedly. An argument 

 against the spread of the disease by insects commonly associated with 

 filth, such as bed-bugs and Uce, lies in the fact of its incidence in most 

 cleanly homes. 



Chidester (F. E.). Dytiscus as a Destroyer of Mosquito Larvae (Col., 

 Dipt.). — Entom. News, Philadelphia, Pa., xxviii, no. 10, December 

 1917, p. 454. 



The larvae of Dytiscid beetles have long been considered important 

 enemies of the mosquito. Laboratory experiments showed that a 

 single individual placed in a small jar containing many mosquito 

 larvae killed great numbers, as many as 434 being destroyed in two 

 days. The author has however found many larvae in pools also 

 occupied by Dytiscids and concludes that, while these beetles may be 

 of great importance in killing larvae when present in tremendous 

 numbers, where the larvae are widely distributed, there is little 

 likelihood of their complete extermination by this enemy. 



