THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 327 



Central African Blood-sucking Flies. 

 By Francis Walker, Esq. 



In 'How I found Livingstone/ Stanley mentions three of 

 these, as follows : — 



"There were three different species of flies which sought 

 shelter in my tent, which, unitedly, kept up a continual 

 chorus of sounds : one performed the basso profondo ; 

 another a tenor; and the third a weak contralto. 



" The first emanated from a voracious and fierce fly, an 

 inch long, having a ventral capacity for blood quite astonish- 

 ing. My men unanimously staled that its bite was fatal to 

 horses as well as to donkeys. It is called ' raabunga' by the 

 natives. 



" The second fly, which sang the tenor note, more nearly 

 resembled in size and description the tsetze. It was exceed- 

 ingly nimble, and it occupied three soldiers nearly an hour 

 to capture a specimen ; and, when it was finally caught, 

 it Rtimg most ravenously the hand, and never ceased its 

 efforts to attack until it was pinned through. It had three or 

 four while marks across the after-part of its body ; but the 

 biting parts of this fly consisted of two black anlennse, and 

 an opal-coloured style, which folded away under the neck. 

 When about to bite this style was shot out straight, and the 

 antennae embraced it closely. After death the fly lost its 

 distinctive white marks. 



" The third fly, called ' chufvva,' pitched a weak alto- 

 crescendo note, was a third larger than the house-fly, and 

 had long wings. If this insect sang the feeblest note, it 

 certainly did the most work, and inflicted the most injury : 

 horses and donkeys streamed with blood, and reared and 

 kicked through the pain. So determined was it not to be 

 driven away before it obtained its fill, that it was easily 

 despatched : but this dreadful enemy to cattle constantly 

 increased in numbers. 



" The three species above named are, according to natives, 

 fatal to cattle ; and this perhaps may be the reason why such 

 avast expanse of first-class pasture is without domestic cattle 

 of any kind, a few goats only being kept by the villagers. 

 This fly I subsequently found to be the ' tsetze.'" 



