4i Mr. W. S. MacLeay oji the Insect callnl Oistros 



rate, namely, their luode of generation. In description tliey 

 always accord ; they are both diptera, and therefore he says 

 necessarily siJi7rgo7S6x.:VTpx, " ouSsv 8' 60"T( Iiittz^ov onKrSoxsvTpov. 

 Now this, by the wav, proves notonly that the ohrgo; was not 

 the modern CEstrus, but moreover that Aristotle could never 

 have seen a modern Oestrus attack cattle ; for had he seen it, 

 he would most assuredly have deemed it oTtiaSoKBVTgo;. And 

 yet he must have seen his ohrgog about cattle; for he states 

 positively not only that the cTo-rgoi pierce the hides of quadru- 

 peds, but that they are armed with a strong tongue, and are 

 blood-suckers {aifjioSopx ^wa). In both these last respects it is 

 to be observed, that they differ totally from the modern (Estrus, 

 but perfectly agree, as M. Latreille has well said, with the 

 Linnaean Tabani. 



iElian describes the oltrrgog and /xuaji]/ in the same way as 

 Aristotle. They are both most inimical to cattle (^ouatv e;^- 

 flio-Ta). The ola-rpoi he states to be one of the largest flies (xa- 

 T« xaj (J.IIIXC Tug luzyiiTUi), having a strong sting in its mouth, 

 and uttering a particular kind ol harsh humming noise (^%ov 

 /3o,«.§cuSr) Tfva xai Tpayyv). The ju.o«;\|/, on the other hand, he 

 says is like the fly called by the Greeks xuvofLvta; and although 

 it makes a louder hum than the oTorpoj, he states that it has a 

 smaller sting. 



If we now turn to the poets, we shall find that their account 

 of this insect tallies perfectly with the above description of 

 the ancient naturalists, but not at all with the modern genus 

 CEsfrus. 



Homer describes his Qistriis as caoXog, a word which ap- 

 plies admirably to the most common of all Tubanidce, namely 

 the Tabanus pluvialis of Linnteus, as well as to the insects 

 which now form the genus Chrysops. And the Scholiast, after 

 stating that the olTzgo; and /auwxJ/ are very near in aflinity, says 

 that the latter differs in having a smaller sting in the mouth, 

 and in being subaeneous in respect to its aspect or fades {uito- 

 ^uKkov t^v iJ.og(pr}v), thus evidently pointing, as I think, to 

 the difference which exists between the modern genera 7 aba- 

 mis and Ilcciiiatopota, the latter having much more splendid 

 eyes. That Homer's insect was not the modern OEstnis may 

 besides be inferred Jrom what he says of the season in which 

 it makes its appearance, 



for there are few cases, I believe, of the modern QHstri appear- 

 ing earlier than the middle of July. And this circumstance, 

 by the way, leads also to the conclusion, that the English 

 hreese or biize is not the modern (Estrus, although it is gene- 

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