﻿292 
  S. 
  A. 
  NEAVE. 
  

  

  completely 
  hard 
  and 
  dry, 
  and 
  indeed, 
  I 
  am 
  inclined 
  to 
  think 
  that 
  a 
  short 
  flight, 
  

   at 
  least, 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  bring 
  this 
  about. 
  One 
  result 
  of 
  this, 
  is 
  the 
  unexpected 
  

   fact 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  really 
  more 
  difficult 
  to 
  obtain 
  perfect 
  specimens 
  of 
  Tabanidae 
  from 
  

   bred 
  individuals 
  than 
  from 
  collected 
  ones. 
  I 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  best 
  method 
  was 
  to 
  

   transfer 
  the 
  flies, 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  they 
  exhibited 
  a 
  desire 
  to 
  attempt 
  to 
  fly, 
  to 
  clean, 
  

   dry, 
  glass 
  tubes 
  in 
  which 
  there 
  was 
  only 
  just 
  room 
  for 
  them. 
  These 
  were 
  only 
  

   closed 
  with 
  mosquito 
  netting, 
  not 
  corked, 
  otherwise 
  the 
  moisture 
  from 
  the 
  

   newly-emerged 
  flies 
  collected 
  on 
  the 
  walls 
  of 
  the 
  tube 
  and 
  entangled 
  their 
  wings. 
  

  

  A 
  variety 
  of 
  experiments 
  were 
  made 
  in 
  an 
  endeavour 
  to 
  keep 
  various 
  Tabanidae 
  

   alive 
  in 
  captivity. 
  They 
  did 
  not 
  meet 
  with 
  very 
  great 
  success, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  very 
  soon 
  

   found 
  that 
  the 
  flies 
  died 
  at 
  once 
  in 
  any 
  cage, 
  large 
  enough 
  for 
  them 
  to 
  fly 
  in, 
  

   which 
  was 
  made 
  of 
  hard 
  or 
  resistant 
  materials. 
  This 
  was 
  especially 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  

   examples 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  Chrysops, 
  which 
  seldom, 
  if 
  ever, 
  survived 
  a 
  single 
  day. 
  

   Species 
  of 
  Haematopota, 
  being 
  more 
  sluggish 
  insects, 
  did 
  not 
  knock 
  themselves 
  

   about 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  extent 
  and 
  lived 
  longer, 
  some 
  nearly 
  a 
  fortnight. 
  They 
  were 
  

   difficult 
  to 
  feed, 
  except 
  on 
  the 
  human 
  arm 
  placed 
  against 
  the 
  cage, 
  and 
  appeared 
  

   to 
  take 
  no 
  notice 
  of 
  a 
  living 
  rat 
  introduced 
  into 
  the 
  cage. 
  The 
  most 
  successful 
  

   experiment 
  with 
  living 
  Tabanidae 
  was 
  conducted 
  with 
  a 
  comparatively 
  large 
  cage 
  

   made 
  of 
  mosquito-netting 
  and 
  wood, 
  each 
  partition 
  measuring 
  about 
  5 
  feet 
  by 
  

   4 
  feet 
  by 
  3 
  feet, 
  in 
  which 
  were 
  boxes 
  containing 
  grasses 
  and 
  growing 
  plants. 
  The 
  

   mosquito-netting 
  was 
  loosely 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  cage, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  shock 
  to 
  a 
  fly 
  in 
  

   striking 
  against 
  it 
  was 
  minimised. 
  In 
  this 
  type 
  of 
  enclosure 
  both 
  sexes 
  of 
  some 
  

   of 
  the 
  larger 
  species 
  of 
  Tabanus, 
  e.g., 
  T. 
  biguttatus 
  and 
  T. 
  corax, 
  were 
  kept 
  alive 
  

   for 
  more 
  than 
  three 
  weeks. 
  They 
  fed 
  greedily 
  on 
  honey 
  and 
  water 
  poured 
  on 
  to 
  

   a 
  dish 
  full 
  of 
  sand 
  and 
  seemed 
  to 
  benefit 
  by 
  the 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  cages 
  being 
  so 
  

   arranged 
  that 
  sunshine 
  reached 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  them 
  during 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  the 
  day. 
  

   They 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  induced 
  to 
  suck 
  blood 
  in 
  these 
  cages, 
  and 
  did 
  not 
  oviposit, 
  but, 
  

   judging 
  by 
  the 
  recent 
  interesting 
  work 
  of 
  Mitzmain,* 
  if 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  possible 
  to 
  build 
  

   cages 
  sufficiently 
  large 
  to 
  enclose 
  a 
  good-sized 
  mammal, 
  I 
  have 
  little 
  doubt 
  that 
  

   both 
  these 
  and 
  other 
  species 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  kept 
  alive 
  longer 
  and 
  induced 
  

   to 
  breed. 
  

  

  One 
  or 
  two 
  captured 
  females 
  of 
  T. 
  corax 
  oviposited 
  in 
  these 
  cages, 
  the 
  process 
  in 
  

   one 
  instance 
  taking 
  nearly 
  an 
  hour, 
  between 
  3 
  and 
  4 
  p.m. 
  Many 
  egg-masses 
  of 
  

   this 
  species 
  were 
  also 
  obtained 
  in 
  the 
  bush, 
  always 
  on 
  reeds 
  or 
  grasses 
  overhanging 
  

   mud. 
  While 
  the 
  female 
  is 
  ovipositing 
  she 
  is 
  not 
  easily 
  disturbed, 
  as 
  King 
  has 
  

   already 
  noticed 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  T. 
  biguttatus,^ 
  and 
  on 
  one 
  occasion 
  a 
  collector 
  brought 
  

   me 
  the 
  reed, 
  fly 
  and 
  all, 
  from 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  mile 
  distant 
  without 
  disturbing 
  her. 
  

   The 
  egg-mass 
  with 
  its 
  cement 
  covering 
  is 
  pure 
  white 
  when 
  first 
  laid, 
  becoming 
  

   dark 
  grey 
  as 
  it 
  hardens. 
  

  

  The 
  cement 
  which 
  covers 
  these 
  egg-masses 
  must 
  be 
  of 
  a 
  remarkably 
  waterproof 
  

   and 
  insoluble 
  character, 
  as 
  some 
  individuals 
  from 
  them 
  succeeded 
  in 
  hatching 
  

   even 
  though 
  the 
  egg-mass 
  had 
  been 
  for 
  two 
  days 
  in 
  70 
  per 
  cent, 
  alcohol. 
  

  

  * 
  Philippine 
  Journal 
  of 
  Science, 
  Sect. 
  B. 
  vol. 
  viii, 
  1913, 
  pp. 
  197-221. 
  

   t 
  Third 
  Eeport 
  of 
  the 
  Wellcome 
  Kesearch 
  Laboratories, 
  1909, 
  pp. 
  213, 
  214. 
  

  

  