RR 
7 2a 
DIPTERA. E 65 
between the pases of the spines, so that the separated tufts of the female look like 
a pair of broad, low teeth with several spiny points; lateral tufts low down, near 
ends of ventral fringe, formed of short spines.—( Hart. ) 
The species may be stated to have at least one natural enemy, for 
in the American Entomologist (Vol. I, p. 337) there is an account, by 
Mr. H. J. Dunlap, of their being eaten by the Nebraska bee killer 
(Promachus bastardit Macq.). 
This account is of considerable interest,-and we quote it herewith: 
Champaign, Ill., August 6, 1870.—I send you an insect by mail to-day in a glass 
bottle that has interested me for three or four years. J] am hardly able to decide 
whether it is a friend or foe. My attention was first called to it by seeing several 
around my team during summer. Supposing them to be a new horse-fly, I watched 
to see one bite, but was finally rewarded by seeing 1t pounce upon a greenhead 
(Tabanus lineola Fabr.). It settled upon my sleeve and soon had transferred the 
contents of Mr. Greenhead’s body inside 1ts own by sucking the juices out by means 
of its stout proboscis. I saw this operation repeated many times. The present 
Fic. 28.—Tabanus lineola: spiracular tubercle of pupa—enlarged (from Hart). 
Fig. 29.—Tabanus lineola: abdominal spiracle of pupa (from Hart). 
Fic. 30.—Tabanus lineola: end of last segment of pupa (from Hart). 
summer I have seen them dozens of times, often five or six around my team, and 
have always noticed that in an hour or so after they appeared no more horse-flies 
were to be found. I have also seen them ‘‘sucking” house-flies, lady- bugs, chinch- 
bugs, several moths, and have also seen them eat each other. The one sent you had 
just captured a honeybee, for which offense I made a martyr of him (or her) for the 
benefit of science. 
THE GREENHEAD. 
(Tabanus costalis Wied.) 
This is another common species very abundant in the Prairie States, 
and was described many years ago. It is probably about as abundant 
and widely distributed as lineola, and causes a great amount of annoy- 
ance and suffering to domesti¢ animals. 
The following from Hart presents our present knowledge of the life 
history of the species: 
This seems to be normally a terrestrial larva. We have taken it two or three 
times in the earth of cornfields in Champaign County. The dates given are May 31 
and June 4. Examples were placed in a breeding cage and an imago of costalis was 
secured from them. 
4653—-No, 5——5 
