ee 
fore been recorded upon Pear. It has occasionally been found upon Orange, but it- 
has been, up to the present time, only a temporary visitor upon cultivated plants. 
Its native wild food seems to be the Gall-berry (Ilex glabra). Your best remedy 
will be to spray with a dilute kerosene-soap emulsion, made according to the for- 
mula given upon page 3, circular No. 1, of this Division at the time when the young 
lice are hatching. If the Gall-berry occurs in any abundance near your orchard | 
you are also advised to exterminate it if possible, as it is doubtless responsible for 
the occurrence of the insects upon your pear trees.—[June 2, 1892. ] 
The Horn Fly in the South. 
Inclosed you will find flies which from habit and appearance are considered by 
this Department to be the Horn Fly. Before treating the matter in the publication 
of the department we desire the opinion of the entomologist. The flies annoy cat- 
tle very much, and made their appearance in southern Georgia last season and again 
this season.—[R. T. Nesbit, Commissioner of Agriculture, Department of Agricul- 
ture, Georgia, May 25, 1892. ! ; 
REPLY.—* * ~* You are correct in determining the species to be the Horn Fly 
(Hematobia serrata). The spread of the species during the past two or three years has 
been remarkable, and it now occurs from New Jersey to Florida and west to Louisi- 
ana.—[May 28, 1892.] 
The Horn Fly in Florida. 
The Horn Fly (Hematobia serrata), arrived here some time last year, as Dr. Neal 
says it was not herein 1890. It was quite annoying last fall. From the present 
outlook it will probably be severe on cattle this year. The first specimens were 
taken during the first week of April. It is known by some as the “dog fly.”—[P. 
H. Rolfs, Florida, April 22, 1892. 
A new Owl Parasite. 
I inclose herewith two flies. I took them from the body of a large Horned Owl, 
killed on Caranchua Bay, Jackson County, Tex. 
These specimens could not fly and seemed to be laden with eggs fastened to the 
hairs on their bodies; they clung tenaciously to the feathers. Would you kindly 
tell me the name of this fly? I never saw one like it before.—[J. D. Mitchell, Vic- 
toria County, Tex., April 17, 1892. 
REPLY.—The insect which you send is one of the curious degraded parasitic flies 
of the family Hippoboscide, to which the so-called Sheep Tick belongs. It belongs 
te the genus Olfersia and, as far as can be determined by comparison with the 
National Museum collection, itis a new species.—[April 26, 1892. ] 
Notes on Spiders. 
= * * <A number of years ago, as I was dressing in the morning, I felt a very 
sharp pain on the outside of my leg a little way below the hip joint. I thought 
there was a hornet in my clothes and began to look for it on the double quick, but 
to my surprise I found a dark-brown spider, such as are common around houses at 
that time of the year. I am not versed in entomology, so I can not give its name. 
It was of the kind that weave funnel-shaped webs to catch flies. The pain was very 
severe forafew minutes. The flesh overa space about the sizeof a dime turned very 
white and raised up like a little fat lump, and was quite hard. Several little inden- 
tations, as if made by pressing the surface with some sharp-pointed thing, as a pin, 
were seen. The indentations were so marked I could not fail tonoticethem. After 
an hour or so the pain largely subsided, and by next day the mark was mostly gone. 
My verdict is that some spiders inflict severe pain by their bite. 
We have a large black spider here that burrows in the ground, making a burrow 
= ey cet 
