468 



OTHER BLOOD-SUCKING FLIES 



male has a proboscis equally well fitted for piercing skin and 

 sucking blood, and the male of at least one African species is 

 known to bite as well as the female. Most if not all of the spe- 

 cies are nocturnal or become active at twilight only. In Corsica, 

 for instance, it is said to be very difficult to capture these midges 

 except for about one hour after sunset. During the daytime 

 they remain hidden away in dark corners, cellars, crevices of 

 rocks, etc. 



Life History. (Fig. 212.) Most species of Phlebotomus lay 

 their eggs in crevices of rocks, in damp cracks in shaded soil, on 



moist rubbish, in crannies 

 or chinks in cement of dark 

 cellars, between boards in 

 privies and cesspools, and 

 in other similar situations. 

 Most species seem to show 

 a decided preference for 

 crevices in rocks, and find 

 ideal situations in ruins of 

 old stone buildings, crum- 

 bling rock fences, etc. In 

 Malta Captain Marett found 

 these insects breeding only 

 in such places. In Peru, 

 according to Townsend, the 

 universal type of fence, a 

 structure of rubble and loose 

 rock, provides ideal breed- 

 ing places for the species found there, whereas in Italy and 

 Sicily the earthquake ruins furnish equally ideal breeding places 

 for them (Fig. 213). The sandflies which occur in certain parts 

 of Egypt are believed to breed in damp cracks in the sandy soil, 

 since there seem to be no other suitable places. 



The eggs are about 40 to 50 in number and are usually all laid 

 at approximately one time, being literally shot out by the female 

 to a distance several times the length of the abdomen. The 

 eggs are viscid and adhere to the surfaces with which they come 

 in contact; it would seem that the peculiar method of ejecting the 

 eggs is a protective adaptation, facilitating their deposition in 

 the farthest reach of a crevice where even the tiny insect itself 



FIG. 213. An earthquake ruin in Sicily, 

 affording favorite breeding places for phle- 

 botomus flies. 



