8 OHIO STATB ACADKMY OF SCIENCE;. 



also taken from the low growing foliage in sunny places among 

 the trees. 



One of the best places I have ever found for taking the sexes 

 of Tabanus and Chrysops is in the tall grass that skirts the 

 marshes of Sandusky Bay. This grass is the Phragmites of 

 botanists and grows to a great height. On July 6th, at Black 

 Channel, when the wind was high, I went into a patch of this 

 grass that was so dense that a net could not be used in it to ad- 

 vantage. Here Tabanids were abundant, and it was found that 

 by approaching them very carefully, specimens could readily be 

 picked off with the fingers. The male and female of T. stygius, 

 nivosus, C. moerens and brunneus and the male of T. affinis and 

 bicolor were taken in this way. This same grass furnished ex- 

 cellent collecting wherever found, but most material was pro- 

 cured when the wind was high. On the same date and near the 

 same place the male of C. brunneus was taken from the flowers 

 of the common spatter-dock, and this and moerens were pro- 

 cured by sweeping in the adjacent low-growing herbage. 



Tabanus sulcifrons is an abundant species in northern Ohio 

 during the latter part of July and all of August, and a fine oppor- 

 tunity for studying its mating habits has been presented. I have 

 observed pairs of only two species of this genus in copulation, 

 but so many pairs of sulcifrons have been noted in different years 

 that it may be of value to record a few statements. All pairs 

 have been observed before nine o'clock in the morning. On the 

 1 8th of last August I entered in my note book the following 

 note : The day is clear and warm ; T. sulcifrons abundant along 

 the south side of a woods ; between eight o'clock and half past 

 eight several pairs observed copulating on the fence, and several 

 pairs taken. The male in every instance clung to the edge of a 

 rail, and the female with the legs and wings motionless and 

 touching nothing hung suspended. The time occupied in making 

 the observations on which this note is based was only a few 

 minutes, considerably less than half an hour, and as I had been in 

 the field where the species was abundant for some time previous 

 and stayed for some minutes thereafter, and saw no pairs except 

 as stated above, it would seem that the period for taking obser- 

 vations on the mating habits of T. sulcifrons is not a long one, 

 and perhaps accounts for the scarcity of printed statements re- 

 garding this particular in our other species of the family. In 

 an hour after these observations Were taken hardly any speci- 

 mens of either sex could be found in the vicinity. 



The statement is in print regarding Simulium, which genus 

 is composed of species having blood sucking females, that "since 

 females once gorged with blood do not and can not return, copu- 



