﻿RESEARCH 
  ON 
  THE 
  GOLD 
  COAST. 
  21 
  

  

  Stegomyia 
  sugens. 
  The 
  only 
  other 
  blood-sucking 
  fly 
  so 
  far 
  recorded 
  from 
  Tamale 
  is 
  

   Stomoxys 
  calcitrans, 
  that 
  is, 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  ubiquitous 
  Hippobosca 
  maculata 
  which 
  

   always 
  accompanies 
  cattle. 
  

  

  The 
  main 
  road 
  from 
  Tamale 
  to 
  Gambaga 
  is 
  via 
  Savelugu, 
  but 
  at 
  this 
  point 
  I 
  made 
  

   a 
  detour 
  to 
  examine 
  the 
  tsetse-belt 
  at 
  Zantana, 
  and 
  rejoined 
  the 
  main 
  road 
  at 
  

   Diari. 
  From 
  Tamale 
  to 
  Kombungu 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  well-cleared 
  road 
  through 
  open 
  

   country. 
  No 
  blood-sucking 
  flies 
  were 
  seen 
  on 
  this 
  trek. 
  After 
  Kombungu 
  the 
  

   native 
  bush 
  track 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  followed. 
  The 
  town 
  is 
  situated 
  about 
  5 
  miles 
  from 
  

   the 
  river 
  Volta, 
  which 
  was 
  extremely 
  low 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  my 
  visit. 
  The 
  river 
  banks 
  

   are 
  clad 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  part 
  with 
  heavy 
  dense 
  vegetation, 
  and 
  there 
  Glossina 
  palpalis 
  

   was 
  found. 
  In 
  the 
  less 
  sheltered 
  places 
  G. 
  tachinoides 
  was 
  abundant, 
  while 
  in 
  the 
  

   open 
  country 
  G. 
  morsitans 
  was 
  everywhere 
  to 
  be 
  seen. 
  Other 
  blood-sucking 
  insects 
  

   seen 
  in 
  this 
  region 
  were 
  Tabanus 
  pertinens, 
  T. 
  gratus, 
  T. 
  sticticollis, 
  T. 
  taeniola 
  

   and 
  Stomoxys 
  calcitrans. 
  

  

  The 
  River 
  Volta 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  crossed 
  before 
  Zantana 
  was 
  reached. 
  In 
  this 
  part 
  the 
  

   country 
  surrounding 
  the 
  river 
  is 
  very 
  reminiscent 
  of 
  Northern 
  Nigeria. 
  For 
  a 
  

   considerable 
  distance 
  on 
  either 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  dense 
  " 
  kurimi," 
  while 
  

   beyond 
  that 
  there 
  occurs 
  an 
  extensive 
  " 
  fadama," 
  swampy 
  during 
  the 
  rains, 
  but 
  

   baked 
  dry 
  and 
  hard 
  in 
  the 
  dry 
  season. 
  Glossina 
  tachinoides 
  was 
  caught 
  near 
  the 
  

   river. 
  Zantana 
  is 
  on 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  main 
  trek 
  routes 
  between 
  Coomassie 
  and 
  the 
  

   north 
  {e.g., 
  Navaro) 
  and 
  has 
  a 
  very 
  bad 
  reputation 
  for 
  horses. 
  

  

  Game 
  is 
  abundant 
  all 
  over 
  this 
  region, 
  hartebeeste, 
  roan 
  antelope 
  and 
  wart-hog 
  

   being 
  the 
  most 
  common 
  forms 
  (hyaenas 
  also 
  abound), 
  and 
  wherever 
  there 
  was 
  

   game 
  there 
  Glossina 
  morsitans 
  was 
  found. 
  On 
  one 
  occasion 
  when 
  traversing 
  this 
  

   region 
  no 
  tsetse 
  were 
  seen 
  for 
  hours, 
  when 
  suddenly 
  we 
  were 
  surrounded 
  by 
  

   G. 
  morsitans. 
  They 
  became 
  a 
  perfect 
  nuisance 
  and 
  within 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  a 
  mile 
  of 
  

   our 
  first 
  encountering 
  them 
  we 
  came 
  across 
  a 
  herd 
  of 
  roan 
  antelope. 
  On 
  two 
  other 
  

   occasions 
  in 
  the 
  Northern 
  Territories 
  I 
  had 
  the 
  same 
  experience, 
  and 
  am 
  inclined 
  to 
  

   conclude 
  that 
  these 
  tsetse 
  were 
  following 
  the 
  herds, 
  in 
  one 
  case 
  hartebeeste, 
  and 
  

   in 
  the 
  other 
  cob 
  ; 
  the 
  flies 
  were 
  caught 
  fully 
  two 
  miles 
  from 
  water. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  first 
  occasion 
  when 
  I 
  shot 
  a 
  roan 
  antelope 
  several 
  G. 
  morsitans 
  and 
  

   Tabanus 
  pertinens 
  collected 
  round 
  the 
  buck 
  and 
  sucked 
  up 
  the 
  blood 
  oozing 
  from 
  

   the 
  wound. 
  On 
  this 
  animal 
  were 
  numbers 
  of 
  Hyalomma 
  aegyptium 
  and 
  Boophilus 
  

   decoloratus. 
  From 
  a 
  wart-hog 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  place 
  I 
  obtained 
  Rhipicephalus 
  simus, 
  

   and 
  from 
  a 
  hartebeeste, 
  Amblyomma 
  variegatum. 
  

  

  Blood-sucking 
  flies 
  from 
  Zantana 
  include 
  G. 
  tachinoides, 
  G. 
  palpalis, 
  G. 
  morsitans, 
  

   Stomoxys 
  calcitrans, 
  Tabanus 
  gratus, 
  T. 
  par, 
  T. 
  taeniola, 
  T. 
  pertinens, 
  and 
  

   T. 
  sticticollis. 
  

  

  The 
  River 
  Volta 
  was 
  again 
  crossed 
  between 
  Tibungu 
  and 
  Singa, 
  and 
  there 
  

   G. 
  tachinoides 
  was 
  caught. 
  The 
  banks 
  at 
  this 
  part 
  had 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  thick 
  vegetation, 
  

   but 
  more 
  high 
  grass. 
  At 
  the 
  latter 
  town 
  Tabanus 
  gratus, 
  T. 
  pertinens, 
  T. 
  laverani 
  

   and 
  T. 
  biguttatus 
  var. 
  croceus 
  occur, 
  along 
  with 
  G. 
  tachinoides. 
  Game, 
  including 
  

   hartebeeste, 
  water-buck 
  and 
  cob, 
  were 
  seen 
  on 
  the 
  open 
  grassy 
  plains 
  around 
  

   Singa. 
  

  

  Between 
  Singa 
  and 
  Sugu 
  the 
  Volta 
  has 
  again 
  to 
  be 
  crossed, 
  and 
  the 
  banks 
  are 
  

   covered 
  with 
  dense 
  bush. 
  The 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  surrounding 
  country 
  must 
  be 
  very 
  

   swampy 
  in 
  the 
  rains 
  ; 
  in 
  March 
  it 
  was 
  baked 
  dry 
  and 
  very 
  hard. 
  G. 
  tachinoides 
  

  

  