57 



thanks to the observations and writings of Drs. Franz Stuhlmann,. 

 J. B. Davey, and Meredith Sanderson, more is already known con- 

 cerning the habits of G. brevipalpis than about those of any other 

 Tsetse, with the exception of G. palpalis and morsitans. Stuhlmann 

 . . . besides furnishing a detailed description of the anatomy 

 and histology of the internal organs, has also provided us with an 

 interesting account 1 of G. brevipalpis as observed by him in German 

 East Africa [now Tanganyika Territory], both under natural conditions 

 and in captivity, and the following resume is based upon his statements 

 and those of the English writers mentioned above, whose observations 

 were made in the Nyasaland Protectorate. 



" Glossina brevipalpis, which is often met with in very large numbers, 

 is found, at altitudes varying from sea-level to some 1,700 ft., as a 

 rule only where there is abundant shade and protection from wind, its 

 favourite haunts consisting of bush mixed with creepers and young 

 forest trees, either close to watercourses (dry or otherwise), or at any 

 rate within a few hundred yards of water. Stuhlmann has encountered 

 the fly close to the sea, near Dar es Salam, and Davey records the 

 occurrence of a single specimen amongst ' bango ' 'reeds a few yards 

 from the edge of Lake Nyasa. Sanderson has been informed by 

 natives that during the rains (i.e. about January), ' at which time 

 practically the whole country is under water/ the species is very 

 prevalent in North Nyasa all over the grassy plain lying between the 

 shore of the lake and a line of foot-hills some ten miles awa}^, but this 

 statement requires confirmation. Like G. palpalis and other species 

 of Tsetse, G. brevipalpis will occasionally follow cattle and other 

 animals to some distance from its usual haunts ; Stuhlmann states 

 that in this way, especially during the hot weather, isolated specimens 

 were frequently found for a time among the mountains of East 

 Usambara, at an altitude of from 800 to 1,000 metres (2,600 to 3,250 ft.), 

 while, during the period from December to April, others have often 

 been met with in settlements such as Kwamkoro and Amani. Davey 

 records the capture of a single individual ' on the finger of a native 

 standing under a tree in the middle of a small village/ and in another 

 village Sanderson once caught two specimens in a hut occupied by 

 natives, and also containing a cow infected with trypanosomiasis." 



From his observations "in several localities in Nyasaland," Davey 

 concludes that G. brevipalpis occurs either "in considerable numbers 

 over a limited area," or "in very small numbers," but he admits that 

 the visits on which these conclusions are based were made in the wet 

 and the dry seasons, respectively. The fly was " most numerous 

 under the largest trees." 



Writing in 1912 on G. brevipalpis as observed by him in Eastern 

 Tropical Africa, Dr. S. A. Neave (103) remarks : " This species seems 

 to be, partially at least, dependent on the presence of water or a 

 moderate degree of atmospheric humidity. It is therefore only found 

 in river valleys and amongst a considerable amount of cover and shade, 

 much more than would be necessary for G. pallidipes, but less than for 

 G. palpalis. In the height of the dry season it seems to be found only 

 in the immediate proximity of water or cool and damp river beds. It 

 prefers comparatively low country, and I do not know any record of 

 its occurrence at much over 3,000 ft." 



1 Austen's version of this has already been drawn upon more than once in 

 the compilation of the present volume. 



