﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  TSETSE-FLY 
  INVESTIGATION 
  IN 
  NIGERIA. 
  383 
  

  

  absent, 
  and, 
  generally 
  also, 
  baboons. 
  Small 
  monkeys 
  are 
  usually 
  present. 
  Cattle, 
  

   sheep 
  and 
  goats 
  abound, 
  and 
  man 
  comes 
  into 
  close 
  relation 
  with 
  the 
  fly, 
  as 
  the 
  farms 
  

   often 
  abut 
  on 
  the 
  fly 
  areas. 
  

  

  It 
  is, 
  of 
  course, 
  possible 
  that 
  tachinoides 
  has 
  some 
  wholly 
  unexpected 
  hosts, 
  such 
  

   as 
  birds 
  or 
  fruit-bats, 
  which 
  are 
  common 
  in 
  many 
  of 
  its 
  haunts, 
  but 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  

   evidence 
  of 
  this 
  at 
  present. 
  

  

  (c) 
  Colonies 
  of 
  G. 
  tachinoides 
  in 
  Populous 
  Districts. 
  

  

  The 
  third 
  condition 
  mentioned 
  in 
  the 
  last 
  section 
  deserves 
  fuller 
  consideration, 
  

   since 
  the 
  existence 
  of 
  the 
  fly 
  in 
  such 
  areas 
  is 
  a 
  very 
  important 
  matter. 
  The 
  colonies 
  

   of 
  the 
  fly 
  in 
  these 
  are 
  generally 
  small, 
  but 
  the 
  forest 
  conditions 
  are 
  not 
  good, 
  farming 
  

   having 
  reduced 
  the 
  shade 
  to 
  very 
  small 
  proportions. 
  However, 
  several 
  thriving 
  

   colonies 
  of 
  the 
  fly 
  under 
  these 
  artificial 
  conditions 
  have 
  been 
  examined. 
  On 
  the 
  

   River 
  Kudu 
  in 
  South 
  Kano 
  in 
  a 
  densely 
  populated 
  part 
  on 
  the 
  main 
  Kano-Nafada 
  

   road, 
  where 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  stream 
  are 
  tolerably 
  broadly 
  shaded, 
  six 
  very 
  inexpert 
  

   fly 
  boys 
  caught 
  flies 
  at 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  20 
  per 
  boy-hour 
  (cf. 
  Fiske) 
  — 
  a 
  large 
  catch 
  of 
  this 
  

   very 
  agile 
  fly. 
  At 
  Patta, 
  in 
  the 
  locality 
  described 
  above 
  (page 
  378), 
  a 
  shaded 
  village 
  

   water-hole, 
  entirely 
  isolated 
  by 
  very 
  dry 
  bush, 
  the 
  catch 
  of 
  fly 
  was 
  at 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  

   40 
  per 
  boy-hour, 
  and 
  982 
  pupae 
  were 
  collected 
  in 
  under 
  two 
  hours. 
  A 
  few 
  monitor 
  

   lizards 
  were 
  present, 
  but 
  to 
  the 
  best 
  of 
  our 
  knowledge 
  no 
  other 
  animal 
  visited 
  the 
  

   spot 
  except 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  constant 
  procession 
  of 
  women 
  fetching 
  water 
  in 
  the 
  

   morning 
  and 
  evening. 
  The 
  domestic 
  animals 
  did 
  not 
  water 
  here. 
  Out 
  of 
  80 
  flies 
  

   dissected 
  from 
  this 
  spot 
  18 
  contained 
  recognisable 
  blood, 
  which 
  in 
  two 
  cases 
  was 
  

   reptilian 
  and 
  in 
  16 
  cases 
  was 
  indistinguishable 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  man. 
  This 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  densest 
  colonies 
  of 
  tachinoides 
  we 
  encountered, 
  though 
  of 
  small 
  extent, 
  and 
  it 
  

   was 
  distressing 
  to 
  work 
  in 
  it 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  persistent 
  attacks 
  of 
  the 
  flies. 
  A 
  third 
  

   instance 
  of 
  a 
  similar 
  condition 
  was 
  found 
  at 
  Tilde 
  Filani, 
  on 
  the 
  upper 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  

   Katagum 
  River, 
  in 
  Bauchi 
  Province. 
  Tilde 
  is 
  a 
  large, 
  scattered, 
  cattle-raising 
  town 
  

   in 
  a 
  broad 
  valley 
  surrounded 
  by 
  rocky 
  hills. 
  The 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  floor 
  of 
  the 
  valley 
  

   is 
  now, 
  or 
  has 
  been 
  recently, 
  farmed 
  and 
  the 
  shade 
  is 
  restricted 
  to 
  a 
  small 
  rocky 
  part 
  

   of 
  the 
  stream-bed, 
  which 
  is 
  in 
  a 
  shallow 
  ravine. 
  The 
  stream 
  was 
  flowing 
  above 
  

   ground 
  in 
  places 
  in 
  March, 
  when 
  we 
  visited 
  it. 
  A 
  thriving 
  colony 
  of 
  palpalis 
  was 
  

   found 
  in 
  the 
  shade 
  at 
  the 
  watering 
  place, 
  and 
  with 
  them 
  a 
  few 
  tachinoides 
  were 
  

   caught. 
  Some 
  monitors 
  were 
  present 
  (reptilian 
  blood 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  one 
  palpalis 
  

   to 
  eight 
  which 
  contained 
  mammalian 
  blood), 
  but 
  apart 
  from 
  these 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  

   observable 
  source 
  of 
  food 
  except 
  man 
  and 
  domestic 
  stock. 
  

  

  (dy 
  Some 
  Contrasts 
  with 
  G. 
  morsitans. 
  

  

  Two 
  localities 
  visited 
  gave 
  a 
  marked 
  contrast 
  in 
  the 
  nourishment 
  of 
  tachinoides 
  

   and 
  morsitans. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  of 
  these 
  was 
  on 
  Baro 
  Hill 
  (Niger 
  River) 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  rains 
  in 
  October. 
  

   The 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  plateau 
  are 
  densely 
  bushed, 
  while 
  the 
  top 
  is 
  covered 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  

   part 
  by 
  very 
  long 
  grass 
  on 
  the 
  site 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  Government 
  station, 
  by 
  farmed 
  land, 
  

   and 
  in 
  places 
  by 
  patches 
  of 
  moderately 
  dense 
  deciduous 
  forest. 
  G. 
  tachinoides 
  was 
  

   taken 
  around 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  hill 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  forest 
  in 
  association 
  with 
  morsitans, 
  

   and 
  on 
  the 
  slopes 
  by 
  itself. 
  Some 
  large 
  antelopes 
  were 
  present, 
  together 
  with 
  

   bushbuck 
  and 
  duiker. 
  Baboons 
  were 
  rather 
  plentiful. 
  Wood-cutters 
  worked 
  in 
  

   places 
  on 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  plateau 
  in 
  sufficient 
  numbers 
  to 
  form 
  small 
  paths. 
  There 
  

   were 
  no 
  cattle. 
  Aquatic 
  reptiles 
  are 
  of 
  no 
  account, 
  as 
  there 
  is 
  never 
  any 
  surface 
  

   water 
  on 
  the 
  hill, 
  which 
  is 
  of 
  laterite 
  rock 
  and 
  absorbs 
  the 
  rain 
  as 
  it 
  falls. 
  In 
  all, 
  

   120 
  tachinoides 
  were 
  caught, 
  of 
  which 
  74 
  were 
  dissected 
  ; 
  of 
  these 
  9 
  contained 
  blood, 
  

   all 
  mammalian, 
  and 
  74 
  per 
  cent, 
  contained 
  only 
  the 
  merest 
  trace 
  of 
  detritus 
  in 
  the 
  

   gut 
  ; 
  the 
  flies 
  had 
  thin 
  wafer-like 
  abdomens 
  and 
  practically 
  no 
  development 
  of 
  fat. 
  

   Of 
  48 
  morsitans 
  obtained, 
  45 
  were 
  dissected 
  ; 
  of 
  these 
  12 
  contained 
  blood, 
  all 
  

  

  