THE BLOOD-SUCKING DIPTERA OF PALESTINE. 121 



attempted to bite. It was felt at the time that so unmistakable a predilection for 

 settling upon and feeding from a hairy surface could scarcely be without significance. 

 The $ taken in the act of biting the author's arm caused a sharp, pricking sensation, 

 which lasted for several minutes, although there was no visible blood at the bitten 

 spot. The $ caught at Tul Keram by Colonel Sewell bit its captor on his bare leg 

 at 7.30 a.m., while he was dressing in his tent ; though disturbed before it had time 

 to draw blood, the fly left a mark upon the skin. 



The greyness of the ?$ of this species in life is very noticeable ; male specimens 

 do not appear nearly so grey. Another remarkable characteristic of this fly is the 

 softness of its body ; when pinning the specimens taken at Latron, which did not 

 appear to be newly-emerged, the author found it difficult to impale them on No. 20 

 pins, without crushing in the dorsum of the thorax, and the contrast in this respect 

 between Ph. crassirostris and Musca domestica or M. autumnalis was most striking. 



Genus Stomoxys, Geoff. 

 Stomoxys calcitrans, Linn. 



One S> 2 ??, Deir el-Belah, 8 miles S.-W. of Gaza, 7,20.iv.l917 ; 1 $, Jaffa, 

 26.ii.1918, in house ; 1 $, Wadi Hanein, near Richon le Sion, 9.iv.l918 ; \ ^, \ '^, 

 Deiran, 11. iv. 1918, in coitu. 



Generally distributed. Brunetti [loc. cit.) states that in October 1912 this 

 species was met with in houses at Nazareth and Tiberias by Dr. N. x\nnandale, 

 who writes (ihid.) that it was " also seen commonly on cattle." 



Genus Lyperosia, Rond. 

 Lyperosia irritans, Linn. 



Fairly common in Wadi Ghuzze, near El Shellal, ll.xi.l917, when a number of 

 specimens settled on author's sleeve, but did not attempt to bite ; 1 cJ, 3 ??, 

 Ain es-Sultan, near Jericho, 22.iv.1918, on horses. 



[Lyperosia minuta, Bezzi.— Brunetti (Journ. Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, ix, p. 43, 

 1913) records a single $ of this species as having been taken at Tiberias, in October 

 1912, by Dr. N. Annandale, who writes {loc. cit.) : — " The specimen was caught 

 biting my hand at night. What I take to be this species is very troublesome, 

 especially in the early morning and at sunset, on the shores of the Lake of Tiberias, 

 easily piercing ordinary flannel with its proboscis. The wound is not very painful 

 and does not as a rule become inflamed."] 



Family HIPPOBOSCIDAE. 



Genus Hippobosca, Linn. 

 Hippobosca equina, Linn. 



One $, near Jericho, 6.iii.l918 {Captain {acting Lt.-Col) W. J. Dale, O.B.E., 

 R.A.V.C.); 1 ?, Deir el-Belah, 8 miles S.-W. of Gaza, v.1917 ; 1 ?, near 

 Jerisheh, 5 miles N.-E. of Jaffa, between l.v. and 8.V.1918 ; 1 (^, 1 ?, Mulebbis, 

 21.V.1918, on cow {Captain C. Searle. M.Ct. R.A.M.C); 1 S. Jericho Plain, 

 26.V.1918, on horse; 3 ??, Mount of Ohves, 26.V.1918, on horse {Captain (acting 

 Lt.-Col.) Dale) ; 1 (^, 1 $, Mount of Olives, 20. vi. 1918, inside Kaiserin Auguste- 

 Viktoria Stiftung ; 1 ^, Tul Keram, 27.ix.1918. 



Brunetti {loc. cit., p. 44) mentions that in October 1912 specimens of this species 

 were taken by Dr. N. Annandale at Tiberias, Nazareth, and Kefr Kenna, " sucking 

 blood of horses." The collector states {loc. cit) that in Galilee H. equina is " very 

 common on horses and cattle." 



