﻿160 JAR. J. SIMPSON — ENTOMOLOGICAL 



(6) Ibadan. x 



This district lies to the north of Egbaland and consequently partakes of the 

 hilly character of that region. " The whole country lies on eruptive rocks all 

 belonging to the granitic-gneissic family, with approaches here and there to 

 porphyry. North of Ibadan there is little real forest. The country may be 

 described as a rolling plateau with low hills and hardly any virgin land. The 

 average rainfall is 40-50 inches. The cattle thrive although they have ticks 

 and suffer from tsetse-fly, especially in the neighbourhood of rivers." 



The only blood-sucking flies recorded from Ibadan are : — Myzomyia costalis, 

 Culiciomyia nebulosa, Tabanus taeniola, Haematopota decora and Hippobosca 

 metadata. Dr. Ashton informed me that " sandflies," probably Culicoides f/rahami, 

 were very abundant, especially during the wet season and were most troublesome 

 from 6 to 11 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to sunset. None were seen by me during my 

 visit, which occurred towards the end of February. 



(7) Ikorodu. 



This is a very small district lying on the Lagos lagoon. The whole area is 

 very low and there is no open country ; clearings for farms have been made in 

 the forest in several places. Numerous rivers, streams and back-waters from the 

 lagoon intersect the country in all directions, and these afford an ample water- 

 supply. Many of these water-ways are navigable for canoes. Nothing is 

 known of the insect fauna of this district. 



(8) Epe. 



The district of Epe extends along the sea-coast practically from Lagos to the 

 boundary of the Central Province, and includes the two sub-districts of Mahin 

 and Itebu. At no point is it more than twenty-five miles from the coast. Both 

 of the sub-districts, Mahin and Itebu, are low-lying and swampy, the greater 

 part of this area being covered with large trees and thick undergrowth. North 

 of the town of Epe the country is undulating. It was once covered by a huge 

 forest, which has now been cut down and replaced by farms. South of this 

 region to the sea the whole country is low-lying and sandy, and includes 

 numerous lagoons, the largest of which is known as the Lekki Lagoon. 

 Numerous rivers, which rise in the districts to the north, such as Ibadan and 

 Ondo, have their lower reaches in the Epe district, and pour their waters into 

 the various lagoons. The largest of these are the Oshun, the Shasha and the 

 Oni. In addition to these there are numerous creeks, such as the Unu, the Owa 

 and the Mahin. Consequently, waterways are extremely numerous throughout 

 the district and afford communication between Lagos, Epe, and onwards to the 

 Niger. 



The chief industry of the district is fishing, but there is also a certain amount 

 of agriculture. Recently, bitumen has been discovered there, and this substance 

 is being exploited by the Southern Nigerian Bitumen Company. 



Elephant were formerly abundant, but are now practically extinct. A few 

 antelope still exist, and hippopotami and manatee occur in the rivers and creeks. 

 Our knowledge of the insect fauna of this district is due entirely to the work of 



