256 Timehri. 
Among the midges blood-sucking obtains only among the sand-flies. The 
green and grey mosquito-like midges, so common at dusk and early morning on 
our window-panes during the rainy season, are absolutely harmless, being utterly 
incapable of piercing our skins. 
The family of the Psychodide, owl-midges or moth-flies, contains the genus 
Phlebotomus that includes certain blood-suckers, but I do not know if this genus 
or any of the blood-sucking species are represented in the colony. I refer to the 
family chiefly because Psychodide abound in latrines in the city, and perhaps 
some of them may be blood-suckers, and be also concerned in the carrying 
of disease germs. They are small, grey, hairy flies, resembling little moths. 
Their wings are broad, and at rest lie roof-like over the body. They are noc- 
turnal in their habits, and often come into houses, where at dusk or dawn they 
may be seen running about on the window-panes. They breed from the sewage 
of cesspits, whence anyone bold enough to work out their life-history can obtain 
their larve and pupe. Looking down at the liquid filth of any cesspit we may 
see their wriggling larve in abundance, while perched on the inner walls of the 
out-house itself there may be noticed dozens of the adult flies. I have seen the 
commonest species breed from animal and vegetable matter left to decay in 
water ina glass-jar. 
All Psychodids, however, are not objectionable in their breeding habits, as 
there is a beautiful species, grey with an orange yellow thorax, which breeds in 
the water in bromeliaceous plants such as the wild pines that grow on many of 
our large trees. I have bred it from wild pines at the Botanic Gardens, Mocha, 
and Look Out, West Coast. 
The Simulide variously referred to as sand-flies, buffalo-gnats, and sometimes 
mosquitoes, comprise a set of small flies that prick viciously, attacking the eyes, 
nostrils, and ears of man and beast, their puncture giving rise to severe inflam- 
mation. They are black, one-tenth to one-sixth of an inch or more, with a hump- 
ed thorax, short straight antenne, and broad and delicate iridescent wings. They 
are not plentiful along the coast. In my rambles aback of Grove, East Bank, 
I have two or three times come across a solitary one. In the interior, however, 
they are abundant, Mr. de Freitas, taxidermist of the Museum, once collected 
a goodly number from the Potaro district, and Mr. Melville some from the 
Rupununi. At Ida Sabina on the Berbice I observed several. They attack by 
day. 
The Tabanide include the biggest blood-sucking flies, some of them measuring 
over an inch. They have many popular names, such as gad-flies, breeze-flies, 
dun-flies, horse-flies, cow-flies, brimps, cleggs, and stouts. Locally, they are 
known as cow-flies. They are noted for the wonderful beauty of their eyes, 
which have green and violet bands or markings, with a golden sheen. In 
the males the head is almost entirely composed of the eyes, which mee together 
above in the male but are separated in the females. They are active by day, 
and attack not only man, but cows, horses, donkeys, and mules, and in other 
places camels, and even elephants. Their pricking frequently causes b’ood to 
trickle from the animals attacked. Austen, in his ‘“ British Blood-sucking 
