186 MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 



3. The damp earth between some bricks, forming a small platform 

 for a sacred plant in the courtyard of a house. The bricks in this case 

 were more or less covered with algal growth, and among them were ants, 

 the larvae and nymphs of wood lice, the larvae of Mycetophilidae, and 

 other small creatures. 



4. Among the bricks and tiles in a small heap of earth and rubbish, 

 where the conditions were similar to those mentioned above. 



5. The damp leafy matter taken from the earthy sides of an open 

 reservoir \vhere water from several gutters accumulated ; the gutters, 

 which led from houses, were of cement and contained much nitro- 

 genous matter. 



Howlett also suggests that in India the nests of termites may be places 

 where sand flies breed, for the adult insects have been seen in the 

 surface galleries. 



Newstead has observed the method of oviposition of Phlebotomits in 

 captivity, and notes that the fly assumes a curious attitude ; it lowers its 

 proboscis, crosses the middle and hind pair of legs behind the abdomen, 

 which is then elevated and extended to the full ; the egg is then shot out 

 to a distance equal to about three times the length of the abdomen. 



The egg (Plate XXXIII, fig. 1) is translucent when first laid, and is 

 covered with a thin layer of viscous substance ; five hours later it 

 assumes its normal colour. Newstead describes it as follows : ' Form 

 very elongate, dark brown, shining, with longitudinal black wavy lines, 

 which in certain lights give the periphery of the egg a faintly rugose 

 appearance ; these black lines are slightly raised, and are joined by slender 

 cross lines so that a faint but rather coarse reticulation is formed. 

 The transverse lines are, however, very difficult to trace unless they are 

 illuminated by a strong beam of light.' The incubation period lasts 

 about nine days. 



The larva (Plate XXXIII, fig. 3) is cylindrical and like a small cater- 

 pillar. It has a dark head, greyish white body, and long caudal bristles. 

 The antenna consists of three 'segments, the two basal ones rudimentary, 

 the third broad and flat, and armed with a centrally placed hair. It 

 has black caudal bristles arranged in two pairs ; each inner bristle is 

 almost as long as the body, while the outer ones are shorter. 



The pupa (Plate XXXIII, fig. 5) is ochreous buff, with a curved ab- 

 domen and a triangularly shaped head. The front view of the head 

 resembles that of a ram in miniature, the long antennal sheaths, curving 

 behind the eyes, simulating the horns. The larval skin, at least in 

 P. papatasi, is always attached to the two distal abdominal segments, a 



