﻿THE 
  TABANIDAE 
  OF 
  SOUTHERN 
  NY 
  AS 
  ALAND. 
  28& 
  

  

  mactans, 
  which 
  were 
  feeding 
  on 
  cattle. 
  These 
  predaceous 
  Hymenoptera 
  were 
  not 
  

   very 
  common 
  near 
  Mlanje, 
  the 
  locality 
  not 
  being 
  a 
  sandy 
  one. 
  It 
  is 
  exceedingly 
  

   difficult 
  to 
  take 
  them 
  with 
  prey, 
  except 
  by 
  watching 
  for 
  them 
  as 
  they 
  hawk 
  the 
  

   flies 
  on 
  the 
  bodies 
  of 
  stock. 
  

  

  With 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  breeding 
  habits 
  of 
  Tabanidae, 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  which 
  was 
  the 
  

   chief 
  object 
  of 
  my 
  recent 
  expedition, 
  my 
  early 
  efforts 
  to 
  obtain 
  the 
  larvae 
  did 
  not 
  

   meet 
  with 
  success, 
  but 
  this 
  was 
  mainly 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  work 
  having 
  been 
  begun 
  at 
  the 
  

   wrong 
  season 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  My 
  first 
  attempts 
  were 
  made 
  between 
  February 
  and 
  

   April, 
  1913, 
  but 
  the 
  experience 
  of 
  the 
  following 
  year 
  showed 
  that 
  their 
  failure 
  was 
  

   due 
  partly 
  to 
  lack 
  of 
  experience 
  in 
  respect 
  of 
  likely 
  localities, 
  and 
  partly 
  to 
  the 
  

   fact 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  the 
  larvae, 
  at 
  this 
  season, 
  were 
  

   very 
  small 
  and 
  immature, 
  and 
  consequently 
  exceedingly 
  difficult 
  to 
  find. 
  

  

  I 
  had 
  long 
  thought, 
  from 
  previous 
  experience 
  of 
  such 
  localities 
  as 
  the 
  Luangwa 
  

   valley 
  in 
  Northern 
  Rhodesia, 
  that 
  the 
  sandy 
  river-beds 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  ground 
  — 
  

   where 
  individuals 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  Tabanus, 
  at 
  least, 
  are 
  abundant 
  from 
  September 
  

   onwards 
  — 
  would, 
  if 
  anywhere, 
  be 
  comparatively 
  easy 
  places 
  in 
  which 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  

   larvae. 
  With 
  this 
  end 
  in 
  view, 
  I 
  spent 
  some 
  five 
  weeks 
  during 
  July 
  and 
  August 
  

   in 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  Shire 
  and 
  its 
  tributary, 
  the 
  Mwanza. 
  Here, 
  in 
  the 
  sand 
  

   and 
  mud 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  rivers, 
  I 
  was 
  successful 
  in 
  obtaining 
  large 
  numbers 
  

   of 
  larvae, 
  though 
  not 
  of 
  many 
  species. 
  The 
  majority 
  of 
  these, 
  which 
  ultimately 
  

   proved 
  to 
  be 
  those 
  of 
  T. 
  biguttatus, 
  Wied., 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  mud 
  amongst 
  the 
  

   Phragmitis 
  reeds 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  back-waters, 
  etc., 
  of 
  the 
  Shire 
  River. 
  

   They 
  often 
  occurred, 
  especially 
  if 
  the 
  mud 
  was 
  inclined 
  to 
  be 
  dry, 
  at 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  as 
  

   much 
  as 
  6 
  or 
  8 
  inches. 
  Plate 
  xxix, 
  fig. 
  1, 
  is 
  a 
  characteristic 
  scene 
  on 
  the 
  Shire 
  

   River 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  flat 
  sand-bank 
  to 
  the 
  left 
  of 
  this 
  picture 
  large 
  numbers 
  of 
  the 
  

   larvae 
  of 
  T. 
  biguttatus 
  were 
  found. 
  

  

  The 
  lower 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Mwanza 
  River 
  was 
  dried 
  up 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  my 
  visit, 
  except 
  

   for 
  a 
  few 
  isolated 
  pools, 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  which 
  many 
  larvae 
  of 
  T. 
  biguttatus 
  were 
  

   found 
  in 
  the 
  mud. 
  Some 
  other 
  larvae 
  from 
  which 
  I 
  did 
  not 
  succeed 
  in 
  obtaining 
  the 
  

   adults, 
  but 
  which 
  from 
  other 
  evidence 
  are 
  thought 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  those 
  of 
  T. 
  pertinens, 
  

   Aust., 
  were 
  found 
  usually 
  in 
  the 
  water 
  itself 
  among 
  the 
  roots 
  of 
  floating 
  plants. 
  

  

  The 
  experience 
  gained 
  in 
  obtaining 
  these 
  larvae 
  under 
  comparatively 
  simple 
  

   conditions 
  proved 
  invaluable 
  when 
  I 
  returned 
  to 
  my 
  headquarters 
  at 
  Mlanje 
  in 
  

   the 
  middle 
  of 
  August. 
  It 
  was 
  not 
  long 
  before 
  larvae 
  were 
  located 
  there, 
  those 
  of 
  

   Chrysops 
  longicornis, 
  Macq., 
  being 
  amongst 
  the 
  first 
  found, 
  and 
  from 
  then 
  onwards, 
  

   until 
  my 
  final 
  departure 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  February, 
  considerable 
  numbers 
  of 
  larvae 
  of 
  

   many 
  species 
  of 
  Tabanus, 
  Haematopota 
  and 
  Chrysops 
  were 
  obtained, 
  and 
  from 
  

   these 
  the 
  adults 
  were 
  bred 
  in 
  most 
  cases. 
  Details 
  are 
  given 
  later 
  under 
  the 
  species 
  

   to 
  which 
  they 
  are 
  referable. 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  a 
  whole 
  year's 
  collecting 
  of 
  the 
  adults 
  in 
  one 
  locality 
  and 
  from 
  

   other 
  evidence 
  obtained 
  from 
  the 
  larvae, 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  majority 
  of 
  

   Nyasaland 
  Tabanids 
  have 
  only 
  one 
  brood 
  a 
  year. 
  This 
  is 
  certainly 
  true 
  of 
  nearly 
  

   all 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  Tabanus 
  and 
  of 
  Dorcaloemus 
  fodiens, 
  Aust., 
  the 
  only 
  fly 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  

   Pangonia 
  (sens, 
  lat.) 
  which 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  occur 
  near 
  Mt. 
  Mlanje. 
  It 
  is 
  possible, 
  

   however, 
  that 
  certain 
  species 
  of 
  Chrysops 
  and 
  Haematopota 
  may 
  be 
  double-brooded 
  ; 
  

   much 
  doubtless 
  depends 
  upon 
  the 
  larval 
  food 
  supply, 
  climate, 
  etc. 
  

   (C120) 
  b. 
  

  

  