GLOSSINA PALPALIS 



607 



transverse suture ; proboscis bulb with a sharply 

 defined brown or dark brown tip ... 



Dorsum of thorax without such spots ; proboscis 

 bulb not brown or dark brown at tip 



Wings with upper thickened portion of anterior 

 transverse vein much darker in colour than 

 adjacent veins and thus standing out con- 

 spicuously against the rest of the wing 



Wings with upper, thickened portion of anterior 

 transverse vein not much darker in colour than 

 adjacent veins, and thus not standing out con- 

 spicuously against the rest of the wings (wings 

 practically unicolorous) 



longipennis, Corti. 



brevipalpis, Newstead. 



niedicorum, Austen. 1 



Glossina palpalis, Rob. Desv. 



[This is the chief carrier of sleeping sickness in Nature. It is found in places 

 over the whole of West Africa from the mouth of the Senegal River to Angola, 

 and extends eastwards into the Bahr-el-Ghazal. The eastern boundary follows the 

 valley of the Nile and includes the eastern 

 shores of Lakes Victoria and Tanganyika ; 

 from the southern end of the lake the 

 boundary tends south-west, approximately 

 following the frontier between North-eastern 

 Rhodesia and the Congo Free State, and 

 passing through the Katanga district of 

 the latter country into Angola (Austen). 

 It may occur up to 3,000 ft. ; but, accord- 

 ing to Bagshawe, it has not been recorded 

 above 4,000 ft. It feeds on the blood of 

 many animals, including reptiles, amphibia, 

 birds, and even amphibious fishes, as well 

 as all the wild mammals. It seems, how- 

 ever, to possess a decided predilection for 

 man, and undoubtedly thrives better upon 

 mammals and birds than upon cold-blooded 

 animals. 



[It is not usually found far from water, 

 requiring a humid atmosphere and tem- 

 perature of about 85 F. (shade). But a 

 marked seasonal distribution is shown, the 

 flies considerably extending their range 



during the rainy season, and thus visiting districts which are dry for the greater 

 part of the year ; as the rains diminish the fly gradually leaves the temporary 

 haunts and returns to the more permanent ones. It bites only by day, and then 

 only in sunny weather, and usually lives in shade. 



[Roubaud has shown that the first larva produced is about three weeks after 

 copulation, and that others are produced at an interval of nine or ten days. The 

 puparium stage is rapidly produced after the expulsion of the larva, often in 



FlG. 419. Glossina palpalis and pupa 

 rium. (After Brumpt.) 



1 Newstead has recently described another species as G. severini (Ann. Trap. Med. and 

 Par., 1913, vii, No. 2, pp. 331-334). It is allied to G. fuscipleuris, Aust n. 



