﻿277 
  

  

  A 
  CONTRIBUTION 
  TO 
  KNOWLEDGE 
  OF 
  THE 
  TABANIDAE 
  OF 
  

  

  PALESTINE. 
  

   By 
  Major 
  E. 
  E. 
  Austen, 
  D.S.O. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  present 
  moment 
  our 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  Dipterous 
  fauna, 
  including 
  the 
  

   Tabanidae, 
  of 
  Palestine 
  is 
  little 
  better 
  than 
  complete 
  ignorance, 
  consisting 
  as 
  it 
  

   does 
  solely 
  of 
  a 
  few 
  isolated 
  records 
  of 
  species 
  — 
  chiefly 
  mosquitos. 
  The 
  following 
  

   paper, 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  intended 
  shall 
  be 
  succeeded 
  by 
  others 
  dealing 
  with 
  other 
  

   families 
  of 
  Diptera, 
  based 
  upon 
  material 
  collected 
  by 
  the 
  author 
  in 
  Palestine 
  during 
  

   the 
  recent 
  campaign 
  against 
  the 
  Turks, 
  is 
  a 
  modest 
  attempt 
  to 
  lift 
  one 
  small 
  corner 
  

   of 
  the 
  veil 
  of 
  obscurity. 
  

  

  While, 
  as 
  in 
  Syria 
  according 
  to 
  previous 
  writers,* 
  the 
  dominant 
  Dipterous 
  family 
  

   in 
  Palestine 
  is 
  certainly 
  the 
  Bombyliidae,f 
  the 
  Tabanidae, 
  of 
  which 
  twenty-one 
  

   species 
  are 
  recorded 
  or 
  described 
  in 
  the 
  ensuing 
  pages, 
  are 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  poorly 
  

   represented. 
  The 
  extent 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  Dipterous 
  fauna 
  of 
  Palestine 
  is 
  identical 
  

   with 
  that 
  of 
  Syria 
  has 
  yet 
  to 
  be 
  determined, 
  and 
  the 
  present 
  writer 
  unfortunately 
  

   had 
  no 
  opportunity 
  of 
  pursuing 
  his 
  investigations 
  north 
  of 
  Acre. 
  So 
  far, 
  however, 
  

   as 
  the 
  Tabanidae 
  — 
  the 
  only 
  family 
  yet 
  worked 
  out 
  — 
  are 
  concerned, 
  Loew's 
  

   remarks 
  (Verk. 
  z.-b. 
  Ges. 
  Wien, 
  Bd. 
  vii, 
  1857, 
  p. 
  79) 
  with 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  Diptera 
  

   of 
  Syria 
  would 
  certainly 
  apply 
  to 
  those 
  of 
  Palestine. 
  ' 
  The 
  Syrian 
  Dipterous 
  

   fauna," 
  wrote 
  the 
  author 
  in 
  question, 
  "is 
  on 
  the 
  one 
  hand 
  so 
  closely 
  connected 
  

   with 
  that 
  of 
  Europe, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  exhibits 
  so 
  many 
  peculiar 
  species, 
  that 
  it 
  

   merits 
  a 
  high 
  degree 
  of 
  interest." 
  

  

  With 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  examples 
  previously 
  contained 
  in 
  the 
  

   British 
  Museum 
  (Natural 
  History), 
  the 
  material, 
  amounting 
  to 
  one 
  hundred 
  and 
  

   forty-four 
  specimens, 
  upon 
  which 
  the 
  following 
  paper 
  is 
  based 
  was 
  collected 
  by 
  

   the 
  author, 
  with 
  occasional 
  assistance 
  from 
  friends, 
  during 
  the 
  Palestine 
  Campaign 
  

   of 
  1917-18. 
  So 
  far 
  as 
  possible, 
  special 
  attention 
  was 
  devoted 
  to 
  the 
  collection 
  

   of 
  Tabanidae 
  in 
  1918, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  prevalence 
  early 
  in 
  that 
  year 
  of 
  a 
  rumour 
  that, 
  

   during 
  1917, 
  the 
  Turks 
  in 
  the 
  Jordan 
  Valley 
  had 
  lost 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  camels 
  

   from 
  surra, 
  a 
  form 
  of 
  trypanosomiasis 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  causative 
  agent, 
  Trypanosoma 
  

   evansi, 
  is 
  at 
  present 
  believed 
  to 
  be 
  capable 
  of 
  dissemination 
  by 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  

   species 
  of 
  Tabanus. 
  In 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  imperative 
  necessity 
  of 
  maintaining 
  a 
  large 
  

   mounted 
  force 
  in 
  the 
  Lower 
  Jordan 
  Valley 
  until 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  the 
  final 
  general 
  

   advance, 
  the 
  report 
  in 
  question 
  at 
  first 
  caused 
  some 
  apprehension 
  at 
  General 
  Head- 
  

   quarters, 
  Egyptian 
  Expeditionary 
  Force. 
  Fortunately, 
  however, 
  any 
  fears 
  that 
  

   may 
  have 
  been 
  entertained 
  were 
  not 
  justified 
  by 
  the 
  result, 
  while 
  the 
  few 
  cases 
  

  

  * 
  Bezzi 
  (Broteria, 
  Ser. 
  ZooL, 
  Vol. 
  viii, 
  fasc. 
  2, 
  1909, 
  p. 
  37), 
  writing 
  on 
  Diptera 
  from 
  

   Syria, 
  remarks 
  : 
  — 
  " 
  The 
  peculiar 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  fauna 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  deduced 
  from 
  the 
  

   multitude 
  of 
  Bombyliidae 
  : 
  this 
  family 
  is 
  preeminent 
  among 
  all 
  others 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  

   beauty 
  and 
  wealth 
  of 
  its 
  species, 
  and 
  constitutes 
  21-6 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  collection." 
  

   In 
  a 
  foot-note 
  on 
  the 
  same 
  page 
  Bezzi 
  points 
  out 
  that, 
  among 
  thirty-seven 
  species 
  of 
  

   Syrian 
  Diptera 
  recorded 
  by 
  Loew 
  ("Nachricht 
  uber 
  syrische 
  Dipteren," 
  Verh.z.-b. 
  

   Ges. 
  Wien, 
  Bd. 
  vii, 
  1857, 
  pp. 
  79-80), 
  the 
  Bombyliidae 
  amount 
  to 
  56*7 
  per 
  cent. 
  

  

  t 
  The 
  material 
  belonging 
  to 
  this 
  family 
  collected 
  by 
  the 
  author 
  in 
  Palestine 
  during 
  

   1917-18 
  consists 
  of 
  289 
  specimens 
  — 
  nearly 
  twice 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  those 
  obtained 
  belonging 
  

   to 
  any 
  other 
  family 
  ; 
  the 
  precise 
  number 
  of 
  Tabanidae 
  brought 
  back 
  was 
  136. 
  

  

  (637) 
  e2 
  

  

  