viii, B, 3 Mitzmain: Biology of Tabanus striatus Fabricus 215 



Roman sepia surrounded by an elliptical band of ultra ash gray. 

 The field of small facets has a mauve fringe bounding an area of 

 iridescent mauve and Prussian green. 



Size: 14 to 15 millimeters. 



Wing expanse : 25 to 28 millimeters. 



FEMALE 



The front is narrow, converges slightly anteriorly; the color, 

 is golden, marked v^^ith a black callosity of irregular form. 



The head is considerably smaller than that of the male; eyes 

 iridescent mauve and Prussian green. 



The palpi are prominently conical, as long as, or slightly longer 

 than, the labium; the color is the same as in the male, mottled 

 with short black hairs. 



The abdomen is alternately striped with Cologne earth and 

 pale clay yellow. The median stripe is pale clay yellow. In 

 both sexes the thorax is indistinctly striped with pale clay yellow 

 and pale brown, and the wings are transparent except the costal 

 and subcostal cells which are pale brown. 



Size: 15 to 17 millimeters. 



Wing expanse: 26.5 to 29 millimeters. 



FEEDING HABITS OF THE IMAGO 



The males in nature appear to derive the greater portion of 

 their subsistence from gum exuded from trees, particularly rain 

 trees; they can be found upon these trees at all hours, feeding 

 whenever a gummy excrescence is present. In addition to the 

 gum they lap the moisture found on the leaves in the early 

 morning. In this connection Baldrey(3) found that Tabanus in 

 India has a fondness for chestnut leaves, and sucks greedily any 

 fluid thereon. 



The females spend much of their time on trees in company 

 with the males, feeding in a similar fashion. There is no doubt 

 that this is the primary source of the female's food, but whether 

 it is sufficient to stimulate egg laying is undetermined. Judging 

 from the longevity of females kept under experimental con- 

 ditions, it appears that a diet of blood is essential for the develop- 

 ment of the eggs. For example, 200 flies kept individually in 

 large flasks were fed daily on fresh gum of the rain tree. The 

 records show that females outlived the males several days, and 

 that the former lived a maximum of fourteen days. Females 

 fed on monkeys and guinea pigs daily and permitted to feed 

 as often as they desired were kept in similar flasks and under 

 similar conditions as those in the first experiment. The average 



