﻿91 
  

  

  A 
  DIPTEROUS 
  PARASITE 
  OF 
  GLOSSINA 
  MORSITANS. 
  

  

  By 
  Ernest 
  E. 
  Austen. 
  

  

  (Published 
  by 
  permission 
  of 
  the 
  Trustees 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  Museum.) 
  

  

  The 
  Imperial 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Entomology 
  has 
  recently 
  received 
  from 
  Mr. 
  LI. 
  Lloyd. 
  

   Entomologist 
  to 
  the 
  British 
  South 
  Africa 
  Company 
  in 
  Northern 
  Rhodesia, 
  a 
  small 
  

   Bombyliid 
  fly 
  accompanied 
  by 
  the 
  following 
  letter, 
  dated 
  " 
  Mwengwa, 
  Mumbwa, 
  

   via 
  Broken 
  Hill, 
  N. 
  Rhodesia, 
  November 
  1, 
  1913. 
  — 
  I 
  am 
  sending 
  you 
  herewith 
  a 
  

   specimen 
  of 
  a 
  Dipteron, 
  which 
  I 
  believe 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  parasite 
  of 
  G. 
  morsitans. 
  During 
  

   July 
  and 
  August 
  of 
  this 
  year 
  I 
  collected 
  about 
  700 
  pupae 
  of 
  this 
  Tsetse 
  in 
  nature 
  at 
  

   Ngoa, 
  in 
  the 
  Mpika 
  Division 
  of 
  Northern 
  Rhodesia. 
  These 
  were 
  kept 
  under 
  

   observation 
  until 
  September 
  15th, 
  when 
  I 
  was 
  compelled 
  to 
  travel 
  through 
  fly-free 
  

   country 
  for 
  a 
  month 
  ; 
  they 
  were 
  accordingly 
  closed 
  up 
  in 
  a 
  fly-proof 
  case 
  to 
  avoid 
  

   escape 
  (in 
  case 
  of 
  possible 
  fracture 
  of 
  one 
  or 
  more 
  of 
  the 
  bottles 
  containing 
  the 
  pupae), 
  

   and 
  were 
  not 
  examined 
  again 
  until 
  October 
  18th. 
  On 
  this 
  date 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  bottles, 
  

   which 
  had 
  contained 
  five 
  Tsetse 
  pupae 
  collected 
  on 
  July 
  21st, 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  contain 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  " 
  (1) 
  Two 
  pupae 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  flies 
  had 
  not 
  emerged. 
  

  

  " 
  (2) 
  Two 
  empty 
  puparia, 
  with 
  the 
  old 
  Tsetse 
  pupal 
  skin 
  showing 
  inside 
  in 
  the 
  normal 
  

   manner, 
  and 
  with 
  the 
  head 
  cap 
  normally 
  split. 
  

  

  "(3) 
  Two 
  dead 
  Tsetse. 
  

  

  " 
  (4) 
  Another 
  Dipteron, 
  very 
  dry 
  and 
  broken. 
  

  

  " 
  (5) 
  The 
  pupal 
  case 
  from 
  which 
  this 
  fly 
  had 
  undoubtedly 
  emerged.* 
  

  

  " 
  (6) 
  The 
  fifth 
  Tsetse 
  puparium, 
  the 
  head 
  cap 
  of 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  roughly 
  split 
  ; 
  

   this 
  puparium 
  contained 
  no 
  trace 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  pupal 
  skin. 
  

  

  " 
  The 
  pupae 
  had 
  been 
  carried 
  in 
  a 
  strong 
  beaker, 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  which 
  was 
  closed 
  with 
  

   three 
  layers 
  of 
  mosquito 
  muslin, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  almost 
  impossible 
  for 
  the 
  

   larva 
  of 
  the 
  insect 
  to 
  find 
  its 
  way 
  into 
  the 
  tube. 
  The 
  pupa 
  also 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  adapted 
  

   to 
  breaking 
  through 
  hard 
  cases 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  the 
  short 
  spines 
  on 
  the 
  head. 
  There 
  

   appears 
  therefore 
  to 
  be 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  pupa 
  of 
  the 
  Tsetse 
  was 
  parasitised 
  at 
  the 
  

   time 
  of 
  collection, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  parasitic 
  pupa 
  emerged 
  from 
  it 
  between 
  September 
  15th 
  

   and 
  October 
  18th." 
  

  

  Although, 
  as 
  indicated 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Lloyd 
  in 
  his 
  letter, 
  the 
  parasite 
  thus 
  unexpectedly 
  

   obtained 
  is 
  somewhat 
  damaged, 
  it 
  is 
  fortunately 
  not 
  so 
  much 
  injured 
  as 
  to 
  prevent 
  

  

  ♦This 
  is 
  of 
  the 
  normal 
  Exoprosopine 
  type, 
  having 
  on 
  the 
  antero 
  -inferior 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  head- 
  

   capsule 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  four 
  tubercles, 
  or 
  teeth, 
  of 
  chitin, 
  with 
  black, 
  strongly 
  chitinised 
  cutting- 
  

   edges, 
  and 
  a 
  little 
  further 
  back 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  similar 
  but 
  smaller 
  teeth 
  on 
  the 
  proboscis-sheath. 
  

   The 
  dimensions 
  of 
  the 
  pupa 
  case 
  are 
  : 
  length 
  6 
  mm., 
  greatest 
  breadth 
  2-6 
  mm. 
  — 
  E.E.A. 
  

  

  