666 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



the ounce of saponated petroleum, stating, a few drops rubbed in 

 a mosquito bite or wasp sting allays the pain instantaneously. Rev. 

 R. W. Anderson, rector of St. Thomas and St. Dennis, wrote us 

 from Wan do, S. C., some years ago, that he has often found that by 

 holding his hand to a hot lamp chimney the irritation of mosquito 

 punctures would be instantly relieved. (Agr. Dep. Bu. Ent. B. 88.) 



HORSE FLIES. 



The Black-Striped Horsefly (Tabanus Lasiophthalmus Mac- 

 quart). This species was reared from the egg to the adult. The 

 fly is one of the earliest of its genus to appear in the spring, adults 

 having been taken at Columbus, Ohio, as early as May 20, and it 

 is common during the first half of June. The eggs are placed in 

 masses on various plants that grow in low, wet ground, but have 

 not been observed over water. The masses are pure shining black 

 when fully covered, rather small for members of the genus, only 

 slightly convex, and accompanied with an unusual amount of 

 cementing material, which nearly obscures the form and arrange- 

 ment of the individual eggs. The mass in place suggests somewhat 

 a drop of tar or other black substance fastened to the surface of a 

 leaf of the common cattail reed (Typha latifolia), a sedge, or some 

 other pant. The eggs are usually deposited after the 10th of June, 

 and the specimens from which larvae for rearing hatched were 

 taken in Medina County, Ohio, on a common sedge found growing 

 near the outlet of a small spring. 



The Autumn Horsefly (Tabanus Sulcifrons Macquart). This 

 is one of the common species of its family over a wide range. It is 

 not so generally distributed as some of the other species, but where 

 it occurs is apt to be abundant and very injurious to all kinds of 

 stock. I have studied the species in several localities, but most of 

 my knowledge of its habits was gained in Summit and Medina 

 counties, Ohio, where it is a pest of the first magnitude. This coun- 

 try, where the ground is highest, has an elevation of 1,000 to 1,200 

 feet, and is more or less broken by gullies crossing here and there, 

 and through each flows a stream of clear water. 



The Black Horsefly (Tabanus Atratus Fabricius). The eggs 

 of this horsefly are placed in masses of various sizes on the leaves 

 and stems of grasses and sedges and other plants growing in marshy 

 or wet ground, but not necessarily in the water. A single mass may 

 contain as many as 500 eggs, but often they are smaller and they 

 may be larger; they are white when first placed, but soon turn 

 brownish. The mass is very convex and composed of several layers, 

 one above the other, the bottom layer being attached to the surface 

 of the leaf or stem and the other layers each to the one that was 

 placed before it. A female was observed ovipositing June 23 at 11 

 o'clock. It has been proven that the eggs of tabanids hatch more 

 quickly when exposed to the sun during the day, than where they are 

 usually deposited; therefore, the time given is probably too long 

 for eggs under natural conditions. There is no definite way, so far 

 as observed, of telling the eggs of the black horsefly from those of 

 other species of its genus, but being a large species the masses are 



