167 



GuERCio (G. del). Le Tipule ed i Tafani Nocivi nelle Risaie di Moli- 

 nella (Bologna). [Tipiilids and Tabanids in the rice-fields of 

 Molinella (Bologna).] — Redia, Firenze, ix, pt. ii (1913), 31st March 

 1914, pp. 299-345, 14 figs. [Received 12th November 1914.] 



Various species of Tahanus occur in the rice-fields of Bologna, but 

 that particularly referred to in this paper is Tahanus ignotus, Rossi 

 {T. alhipes, ¥.), which occurs in enormous numbers, and this was 

 especially the case in 1911. It generally makes its appearance in the 

 first half of June and is a great annoyance to the labourers, although 

 it does not appear to bite man. Under artificial conditions it 

 takes sweet food greedily, and should thus not be difficult to 

 poison with sweet baits such as arsenic, copper salts, lead salts, etc. 

 The insect prefers cool places, and is generally to be found in the shade, 

 but is also found sitting on plants even in the open, especially Arum, 

 Sagifiaria and Ti/pha. Excessive heat, particularly if the area affected 

 be enclosed and moist, appears to kill the insect very quickly, and it 

 is described as being killed by a sort of sunstroke if exposed to the 

 sun in open fields when the soil is moist. The eggs are laid on the 

 leaf-blades of the plants above-mentioned throughout the month of 

 July and occasionally in the early days of August. Large larvae are 

 to be found in the autumn and \vinter, and large numbers of 

 smaller ones throughout the winter, for the most part in a condition 

 ready to pupate in April or May of the following spring. The larvae 

 of the Tabanid have some resemblance to those of Tipula oleracea, 

 and more or less accurate observation is required to distinguish them. 

 They are a httle larger, more cyUndrical, but of the same colour. 

 Their habits also greatly resemble those of the Tipula larvae with 

 which they are found, and pupation conforms in time with that of 

 the Tipula. This takes place at the end of May and throughout June, 

 when the larvae leave the rice-fields in great numbers and proceed 

 to the banks which surround them, and to the neighbouring meadows 

 to pupate. There is apparently only one generation in the year. 

 These larvae are attacked by flacherie to some extent, and thev and 

 the Tipula larvae are said to do enormous damage in the rice-fields. 

 Amongst the remedies, the proper maintenance of the banks of the 

 rice-fields is the most important, as in this way the drowning of the 

 larvae is more or less assured. 



[It is unlikely that the Tabanid larvae, which are carnivorous, do 

 the damage ascribed to them, and still less so that they could readily 

 be killed by drowning. — Ed.] 



Malloch (J.R.). American Black Flies or Buffalo Gnats. — U.S. Dept. 

 Agric, Bur. Entom., Washington, D.C., Technical Series, no. 26, 

 6th April 1914, 72 pp., 6 pis. 



This publication gives an account of the American species of Simu- 

 lium. The general characters of these insects, their early stages and 

 life-histories, and their taxonomy, are discussed. Descriptions of 

 individual species with their known range in the U.S.A. are given. 

 Prosimulium pecuarum, Riley, the species popularly known as the 

 Buffalo Gnat, is a great pest of cattle in the Southern States, particularly 

 near the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. It is now thought to be much 



(C89) Wt.P86/57. 1500. 11.14. B.&F.Ltd. Gp.11/3., a 



