Vol. Xxii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 133 



Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock) has been elected a corresponding 

 member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, in the section of anatomy 

 and zoology. 



Notes on the Life Histories of Tabanidae (Diptera). — On April 

 IS, 1909, I found two larvae of Tabanus, under the bark of a soggy 

 log lying in the water of a swamp, the surface of the log being an inch 

 or two above the water. One died before I reached home, the other 

 was put into a bottle with some wet dirt and rotten wood, and from 

 this a male of Tabanus trimaciilatus was bred on May 18 of same year. 

 The larva that died and which was presumably the same species was 

 preserved in alcohol. It measures 37 mm. in length and is white with- 

 out markings. 



Late in March of the same year while looking under stones in a 

 small, clear woodland stream, I found another Tabanus larva under 

 a stone, which was quite lively, and seemed thoroughly at home in the 

 clear water. This I kept in a bottle with some wet leaves and practically 

 forgot it. However, on May 18 it had transformed to a pupa, and 

 thirteen days later, on May 31 a male of Tabanus melanocerus emerged 

 from the pupa. The larva was approximately the same size as the 

 trimaculatus larvae, and was like them, white without darker bands. 



I have also on several occasions bred a third species of Tabanus, 

 namely T. fronto. The larvae of this species occur in the soil of my 

 garden, which is rather dry and right on the crest between two water 

 sheds, the nearest permanent water being at least a quarter of a mile 

 away. These larvae are white with pale brown transverse bands, and 

 transform into pupae in June or July, and into flies some two or three 

 weeks later. The earliest date on which an adult has emerged is 

 July 4, which is also the earliest date on which I have seen the species 

 in the field. Two larvae which I have in alcohol are yellower than 

 the trimaculatus larva mentioned above, but show no trace of the 

 pale brown bands which exist in life. The largest of these two meas- 

 ures 36 mm. long and was taken July 5, while the smaller one is 33 

 mm., taken on March 31. Both, as also the preserved trimaculatus? 

 larva, are well, but not abnormally, extended. The only pupa which 

 I have found of this species was under a stone in my back yard. 



Although horseflies do not generally breed away from water, T. 

 fronto seems to be an exception, as larvae have been taken in my 

 garden in several different years, while the adults occur more com- 

 monly in my garden and in my house than any other species of the 

 family, the flies quite frequently entering the house, while newly 

 emerged specimens have been noted on a number of occasions. I sent 

 detailed notes on this species to Prof. J. S. Hine some years ago, but 

 do not think he has published anything on the subject as yet. — C. S. 

 BrimlEy, Raleigh, N. C. 



