THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 129 



Chrysops (Chrysops vittatus, Wied.) — a smaller yellow species with 

 black stripes, and a broad smoky band across the middle of each 

 wing; to be very troublesome in our wooded regions, confining its 

 attacks more especially to the horses' ears, from which habit it is fre- 

 quently called the " Ear-fly." 



It is only the female flies, as is the case also with our mosquitoes, 

 which thus torment our animals by means of their sharp lances, the 

 males living on the sweets of flowers, and their mouths being desti- 

 tute of mandibles. The flight of these Breeze-flies is very strong and 

 rapid, and is attended with a buzzing, tormenting noise. The males 

 may often be seen with the wings vibrating so rapidly that they be- 

 come invisible, resting motionless in one place, and then darting 

 rapidly and resting suddenly again, generally turning the head in 

 some other direction each time they dart; and St. Fargeau has as- 

 certained that this manoeuvering is performed in order to intercept 

 and seize the females. 



Although these flies swarm so prodigiously on our prairie and es- 

 pecially on our low swampy lands, yet hitherto very little has been 

 known of their larval character and habits. De Geer very many 

 years ago described the larva of the European Cattle Breeze-fly (Ta- 

 ■banus bovinus, Linn.), and up to 1864 this was the only larva of the 

 kind. known. In February of that year Mr. Walsh published the de- 

 scription of another Tabanide larva, but without being able to refer 

 it to any particular species.* I had the good fortune last summer to 

 breed to the perfect state the very same kind of larva which Mr. 

 Walsh described. It proved to be one of our most common and 

 largest species, namely The Black Breeze-fly (Tahanus atratus, Fabr.) 

 This Fly (Fig. 97, c) is black, the back of the abdomen being cov- 

 ered with a bluish-white bloom like that on a plum ; the eyes are 

 large, and the wings are smoky dark brown or black. 



The larva (Fig. 97, a) is a large 12-jointed, cylindrical affair, ta- 

 pering at each end, of a transparent, highly polished, glassy, yel- 

 lowish or greenish appearance, shaded with bluish-green and fur- 

 nished above and below, as in the figure, with large roundish 

 sponge-like tubercles which are retracted or exserted at the will 

 of the insect. Though the external integument is so transparent, 

 that the internal structure is readily visible, yet this integument 

 is firm and the larva is most vigorous and active, burrowing with 

 great strength either backwards or forwards in the earth, and be- 

 tween one's fingers while it is being held. Placed in water it will- 

 swim vigorously by suddenly curling round and lashing out its tail, 

 but it is apparently not as much at home in this element as in the wet 

 earth, for it is restless and remains near the surface, with the tip of 

 the tail elevated in the air. When the water is foul it moves 

 about actively near the surface, but when it is fresh it remains more 



*Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. IX, pp. 302-6. 

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