184 



G. E. BODKIN AND L. D. CLEARE, JNR. 



Class HEXAPODA. 



Order DIPTERA. 



Family Tabanidae, 



Within the coastal region the Tabanidae are of common occurrence, though they 

 are chiefly composed of large numbers of a few common species. Within the forest 

 areas, however, these coast-land species seldom appear and their place is taken by 

 numerous other species, some of which are comparatively rare. According to infor- 

 mation received, the savannah lands near the Brazilian border are particularly rich 

 in Tabanidae, but up to the present no opportunity has occurred for collecting or 

 making definite observations within this area. 



The common species of Tabanidae that attack live-stock on the coast-lands belong 

 to the germs Tabanus — T. trilineatus, Latr., T. senior, Wlk., and T. semisordidus, 

 Wlk. ; of these T. trilineatus is possibly the commonest and most widely distributed. 



Fio\ 1. Pupal aster of Tabanus deserius. Walk., 9 ; 

 lateral and posterior aspects. 



The numerous muddy trenches and ditches that are necessary for drainage purposes 

 all over the coastal area, and more especially in the cultivated portions such as the 

 sugar estates, provide very suitable breeding places for these flies, but very little is 

 known of their life-histories ; a wide and fascinating field for research is thus 

 presented. 



The egg-masses of T. semisordidus, Wlk., have been observed to be deposited on 

 the leaves of aquatic grasses and in some instances on the leaves of young rice plants. 

 They are laid in a neat little bundle consisting of some 20 or more cigar-shaped shining 

 black eggs adhering to one another and to the leaf surface. 



The larval and pupal stages of T. desertus, Wlk., have been observed by us. 

 Numbers of the larvae were found in a damp accumulation of sweepings situated at 

 the end of a drain leading from a large cattle pen. Several of these larvae were 

 secured and kept in the laboratory under frequent observation. Although supplied 

 with a quantity of suitable food the largest larva eventually consumed its companions 

 and pupated. After 16 days a female Tabanus deserius emerged. 



