BY E. W. FERGUSON AND G. F. HILL. 261 



taehed eggs and lower tiers of the main mass began to turn greyish, indicating 

 that they were then about three hours old (see paper referred to above). The 

 majority of the egg-s hatched between 11 p.m. on 28th and 6 a.m. on 29th, the 

 young larvae having . already passed through their fii-st moult in the interval. 



(b). This mass was laid between 3.30 p.m. on 24th November and 9.30 

 a.m. on 25th November on a blade of grass 3 inches above the level of a small 

 pool in the sandy creek-bed. As they were slightly greyish in colour when 

 found, it is probable that they were laid late on the previous afternoon (the 

 plant was examined at 3.30 p.m., when the eggs were certainly not present). 

 Most of the eggs hatched between 11 p.m. on 28th November and 6 a.m. on 29th 

 November, but a few did not free themselves from the mass until 10 p.m. on 

 latter date. 



The two batches were placed in large concrete troughs containing clean 

 sand piled up at one end, and water at the other. Each trough was supplied 

 with some water-lily leaves to which very small molluscs and other animals 

 were adhering, and a large number of young mosquito larvae. The leaves were 

 removed on the following day, and thereafter no food was given other than 

 that provided by mosquito larvae (Stegomyia fasciata) which bred natui'ally in 

 the trough. In order to make the mosquito larvae accessible to the young 

 Tabanus larvae, the troughs were tilted up every few days so as to cause some 

 of the former to become stranded on the sand. The water was changed weekly 

 by pouring a fresh supply in at one end and siphoning it out at the other after 

 filtration through the sand. On 31st January following, some of the larvae were 

 22 mm. in leng-th and were evidently prospering, judging by the number seen 

 during a cursory examination of the troughs. At this stage, through forgetting 

 to keep ant-guards in efficient order, the entire contents of the three troughs 

 were destroyed, but as specimens had been secured at intervals it was possible 

 to establish the identity of two out of the three lots. 



Tabanus obscurilineatus Taylor. 



Taylor, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., xliv., 1919, p. 50. 

 Additional locality: Townsville District, N.Q. 



Tabanus innotabilis Walker. 



Walker, List Dipt. Brit. Mus., i., 1848, p. 177. 



Specimens have been received for identification from Moa Island (Torres 

 Strait) and Port Moresby District (New Guinea). 



Tabanus sequens Walker. 



Walker, List Dipt. Brit. Mus., i., 1848, p. 178. 



These flies were plentiful on Magnetic Island and Palm Island, N.Q., during 

 November and December, 1920. In the former locality they were very trouble- 

 some to horses which, it was noticed, were invariably bitten about the coronet 

 and lower parts of legs. 



Tabanus neogermanicus Bicardo. 



Ricardo, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (8), xv., 1915, p. 283. 



This is a very common species on Palm Island, N.Q., and has been captured 

 also on Magnetic Island and near Townsville. N.Q., November, 1920. 

 In life the eyes are emerald-green with copper-coloured iridescence. 



