178 SOME ETHIOPIAN REPTILES, FISHES, AND INVERTEBRATES 



The majority belong to the family Tabanidce. Among these, the genus Tabanus 

 includes a large number of species of, for the most part, stoutly built flies, many 

 of them being of large size. Usually known in England as gadflies or horse-flies, 

 they are often called in Africa hippo-flies, mangrove-flies, or on the Nile serut. 

 These flies are characterised by the possession of rather stout antennas, in which 

 the second joint is very short and the third or tip is from a lateral view somewhat 

 scimitar-shaped. The proboscis is short, stout, and directed vertically downwards 

 so that it cannot be seen from above. Except in a few species such as the red 

 and green T. africanus and its allies, the spot-winged T. maculatissmus, and the 

 big black T. biguttatus, they seldom have defined dark markings in their wings, 

 though the whole wing is sometimes dusky. The wings are carried when the 

 insect is at rest much as in the house-fly. The genus Hcematopota is also 

 represented in Africa by a large number of species. These flies are comparatively 

 fragile insects, with a more slender body and longer and thinner antennas than 

 Tabanus, the proboscis, however, being directed downwards as in that genus. 

 The wings are mottled and spotted and have dark margins. When the flies are 

 at rest the wings are said to be tectiform, because the angle they make with each 

 other resembles that of the ridge of a roof. 



The other two genera of Tabanidce are Pangonia and Chrysops. The 

 members of the former frequent forest or at least well-wooded areas. They fly 

 with a deep humming note, the females usually biting natives on the shins or 

 ankles. The males are also sometimes to be seen at flowers. The species of the 

 genus Chrysops also seem to be confined to wooded localities and the rainy season. 

 They are usually only found at comparatively low elevations, and seldom in large 

 numbers. Lastly, we have the flies of the genus Stomoxys, which belong to an 

 altogether different family group. They occur more or less everywhere, but are 

 much commoner in the neighbourhood of human habitations and domestic animals 

 than in the bush, but appear more abundant at higher elevations than in low 

 country. They seem to prefer domesticated animals to man, and are often a 

 serious pest to clogs, the ears of which they attack, causing sores difficult to heal. 



Another group of African insects demanding special notice are the white-ants, 

 or termites, forming the family Termitidce. The family, with its one genus, is 

 common to Africa and India, and is also represented by one species (Termes 

 lucifugus) in southern Europe, but the African members of the group are the most 

 remarkable of all, and appear to have attained the highest degree of specialisation 

 in the matter of social economy. Many African white-ants construct huge mounds 

 of earth, which may be either conical or mushroom-shaped, and are supported 

 on the outside by buttresses. These pillars, which may be from 12 to 16 feet in 

 height, have no visible external openings, and frequently form conspicuous features 

 in the landscape. From an account given by a missionary in Rhodesia, it almost 

 seems as though white-ants do even more damage in Africa than in India. It is 

 no uncommon thing for the colonist, on returning from his day's labour, to find the 

 coat he left hangino- on a nail of his cottage-wall and the books on the table 

 absolutely destroyed by these tiny marauders. Nor is this all, for on awaking 

 next morning he will be astonished to see in the dim light a cone-shaped object 

 rising from the brick floor a short distance from his bed, with two holes on 



