79 



Genus LXIII. OESTRUS. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Antenruevery short, setaceous, and triarticulate. 

 Mouth a simple orifice, without trunk or ap- 

 parent palpi. Wings variable. Body downy. 

 Tail inflected. 



General Observations. 



The manners of this tormenting genus of in- 

 sects will be sufficiently illustrated by an at- 

 tention to the type chosen in the plate of the 

 Oestrus Eqiii. Other species differ in the 

 choice of their residence during the larva state. 

 The ox, the sheep, and, according to Bruce, 

 the camel, and even the elephant and rhinoceros 

 are subject to the attacks of this persevering 

 fly. Mr. Bracy Clark, to whom we are indebted 

 for a very scientific and interesting account of 

 this genus, says, that when the female of the 

 Horse Gad-fly (Oestrus Equi) has been im- 

 pregnated, and the eggs are sufficiently ma- 

 tured, she seeks among the horses a subject for 

 her purpose, and approaching it on the wing, 



