105 



MuNRO (H. K.). The Sheep Blow Fly.—//. Dept. Agric, Union S. 

 Africa, Pretoria, iv, no. 2, February 1922, pp. 173-175. 



A brief account is given of the injury to sheep wool as a result of 

 attacks by blow-flies, and the methods adopted for deahng with these 

 pests in Australia. They also occur in the Union of South Africa, 

 but how many species are noxious is not yet definitely known. 



James (S. P.). Mosquito Life in Surrey during 1921. — Bull. Ent. 

 Res., London, xii, pt. 4, February 1922, pp. 427-428. 



MacGregor's paper [R. A.E., B, x, 16] has led the author to examine 

 his records for Surrey in 1921. In certain areas, his experience 

 of the scarcity of some kinds of mosquitos is the same, but there are 

 others in which the findings differ. For example, in some parts of 

 Surrey Anopheles bifurcatus was obtained without diificulty throughout 

 the year. Larvae of A. plumbeus and Aedes {Finlaya) geniculatus 

 were collected from tree-holes on many occasions after the middle of 

 August. The incidence of Theohaldia annulata and Aedes pundor 

 var. meigenanus [Ochlerotatus nemorosus) also differed from that in 

 MacGregor's area. In June a larva of Aedes cinereus, which is not 

 included in MacGregor's list, was collected within a few miles of his area. 



As regards Anopheles maculipennis , MacGregor records that when 

 nearly all available breeding-places were dry there was an increase 

 in the actual numbers of larvae found in the remaining ones. Obser- 

 vations in Surrey and Kent indicate that the presence of permanent 

 breeding-places of various kinds explains the difference between the 

 records for the two areas studied. In India, where long periods of 

 drought occur annually, the relative importance of permanent and 

 temporary breeding-places has been worked out in detail. Christophers 

 pointed out in 191 1 that in the Punjab, however hard pressed by drought 

 some of the mosquitos may be in a particular part of any area, it is 

 always possible to find, within their usual distance of spread, some 

 permanent collections of water in which they are breeding freely. 

 Also, when temporary breeding-places reappear, the various species 

 spread widely from these permanent sources until they are shortly 

 to be found again throughout the area. This explains the well- 

 established Indian observation that a particularly dry year has no 

 permanent effect in reducing the numbers of Anophelines. As some 

 permanent breeding-places exist within a few miles of the area reported 

 upon by MacGregor, a probable answer, based upon Indian experience, 

 can already be given to his question as to whether the species dealt 

 with will be rare in the same locality during future years. 



Austen (E. E.). Some Siamese Tabanidae. — Bull. Ent. Res., London, 

 xii, pt. 4, February 1922, pp. 431-455, 7 figs. 



Very little in the way of collection of Diptera has been done in 

 Siam, and the present paper does not claim to be anything like com- 

 plete ; it is published, however, to facilitate the study of Siamese 

 Tabanids and to arouse interest among other workers. The new 

 species described are Tabanus barnesi, T. insidiator, T. praematurus, 

 T. rubicundulus, T. virgidatus, T. pugnax, T. pugiuncidus, and 

 T. agnoscibilis. A key is given to the females of the fourteen species 

 of Tabanus recorded from Siam. 



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