REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 493 



this article designate the chief depredator as the ''Southern Buffalo 

 Gnat " and the second one as the ' ' 1 urkey G nat. " We shall treat first 

 of the " Southern Buffalo Gnat," but as both species occur to a great ex- 

 tent through the same region, most of what is said of the one species 

 will apply also to the other, their habits being essentially the same. 

 We shall call particular attention to the '" Turkey Gnat" only when 

 it is necessary to show any differences, whether as to distribution, 

 habitj or character. 



THE SOUTHERN BUFFALO GNAT. 



{SimuUum pecuamirn n. sp.) 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 



The region infested by the Southern Buffalo Gnat is much more ex- 

 tensive than formerly known. In some years at least it comprises 

 the whole of the Mississippi Valley from the mouth of the Red River, 

 in Louisiana, to Saint Louis, Mo. All the land adjacent to the many 

 rivers and creeks that empty from tlie east and the west into the 

 Mississippi River is invaded by swarms. They are driven about by 

 the wind, and reach points far away from their breeding-places. 

 The exact localities reached by such swarms can as yet not be given, 

 but may be mapped out after further investigations. 



In Louisiana all the land inclosed by the Mississippi and Red 

 Rivers, with perhaps the exception of the extreme western counties, 

 is usually invaded iDy the Buffalo Gnats during a gnat year. South 

 of the Red River they become scarce, less aggressive, and appear only 

 at very irregular intervals. 



In Mississippi all the counties bordering on the river that gives 

 the name to the State are more or less invaded during gnat years. 



All Arkansas, excepting perhaps the western counties, shares the 

 same fate. In the numerous creeks and rivers of this State and of 

 Louisiana the Buffalo Gnat breeds most abundantly. 



In Tennessee the same conditions prevail as in Mississippi, but the 

 swarms do not reach so far east as in the latter State. 



In Missouri the Buffalo Gnats infest only the southeastern coun- 

 ties. 



Kentucky does not fare as well as Missouri, since swarms of them 

 frequently ascend tlie Ohio River for some distance. 



Illinois and Indiana are also more or less invaded ; in the former, 

 it is the region bordering upon the Mississippi and Wabash Rivers; 

 in the latter, that on the Ohio and Wabash Rivers. In 188G Buffalo 

 Gnats appeared in large swarms at De Soto, in Jackson County, Illi- 

 nois, and along the White River, in Davies County, Indiana. 



In Eastern Kansas swarms have repeatedly done great damage. 



EARLY HISTORY. 



From the very fact that the Buffalo Gnats have been constantly de- 

 nominated by the same term, inevitable confusion must necessarily 

 exist in their early history. Such is indicated by the appended re- 

 ports of the special agents, who of course could not tell to which of 

 the species the information received applied. 



It seems that no authentic record exists in Louisiana about the oc- 

 currence of the Southern Buffalo Gnat prior to the year 1850. It has 

 been reported, however, that they had previously appeared in 1846. 



