Dipt era. 987 



gnat stings ; also edematous swellings always on the alKloHiinal 

 portions of the body where the skin shows round spots similar 

 to flea stings. 



The treatment and prophylaxis are similar to those used 

 against the Columbac's fl}^ 



Columbacs fly (Simu'lia maculata s. Columbaesensis), 3 to 

 4 mm. long, posterior ash-gray, on the sides and underneath 

 colored yellow, 3 black stripes on the back, with black spots on 

 the abdomen. 



The female lays her eggs at the end of May and beginning of June in tlie 

 wooded regions of the lower Danube in the water of the mountain brooks; they 

 take the form of slimy masses, from which the larvae are hatched in 2 to 3 weeks. 

 AVith a clinging apparatus situated at the hind end of the body these adhere to 

 stones and plants in the water, until after several moultings pupte emerge which 

 remain torpid during the winter, but the following year, towards the end of the 

 month of April they emerge as fully developed gnats (Tomosvary). 



The Columbacs fly owes its name to the fact that in certain years it increases 

 enormously in the neighborhood of the Servian fortress of Columbac on the lower 

 Danube, and from here spreads in great swarms, and for long distances. As a rule 

 several swarms follow each other, the first about the middle of April, the second the 

 beginning of May, the third al)out the middle of May; the last swarm which con- 

 sists of the last hatching, occasions only little injury. They occur in great numbers 

 mostly in the warm spring after a mild winter, while torrential rain, great droughts 

 and severe spring frosts considerably interfere with their development. The swarms 

 collect before sunrise and follow the direction of the wind, leaving tlie Danube pass 

 above Bazias and are then driven by the wind in different directions (Tomos- 

 vary). They appear at times in immense numbers in southern Hungary, especially 

 in the counties of Torontal, Temes and Krasso-Szorcny, also Arad, Csanad and 

 Hunyad, in Servia, the swarms form dark clouds and may cause a very large num- 

 ber of fatalities especially among cattle, but also among horses and other domestic 

 animals. In such years the swarms sometimes go further north to Austria and 

 Germany, but seldom cause death in these countries. 



In the County of Temes, .52 horses, 131 cattle, 316 sheep and about 100 swine 

 died in the year 1783, while in the year 1830 several hundred horses and cattle 

 perished. In the year 1813, 200 head of cattle in Arad, and in Versecz 500 head 

 were killed by the" gnats. In the year 1880, 400 pigs, 80 horses and 40 cattle died 

 in Kubin within 4 hours, and in the county of Hunyad about 100 cattle, 5 horses 

 and 80 pigs. Great swarms were last noticed in the years 1888, 1889, 1895. In 

 the year 1895 in the county of Hunyad alone from May 21 to May 31, 6 horses, 274 

 head of cattle, 53 sheep, 66 goats and 92 pigs died and the loss amongst wild stock 

 was also considerable. In the southern parts of the county the gnats cause more 

 or less considerable losses every year. 



On the approach of the swarms the animals become rest- 

 less and seek refuge in the stables or in the water. The attack 

 on animals that are kept in the open occurs by immense numbers 

 of gnats, the females preferably injuring the regions of the 

 mouth, nose, eyes, genital organs and rectum with unnumbered 

 stings; through the natural openings they also penetrate into 

 the interior of the body and attack especially the mucous mem- 

 brane of the throat and larynx. At the seat of each sting a 

 small painful swelling develops, from the coalescence of which 

 extensive tumefaction occurs; those around the nasal openings 

 and pharynx interfere with the breathing, and as a result death 

 may occur in 5 to 24 hours. In the production of the fatal re- 

 sult there is no doubt that the poison inoculated by the flies 

 plays a part. In a few cases the swellings disappear after 2 to 

 3 weeks ; for some days the animals eat badly or not at all, and 



