8io 



THE DIPTERA 



Phlehotomus verrucarum Townsend, 1913, is believed by Townsend 

 to be the carrier of Verruga peruviana, but Strong, Tyzzer, Brues, 

 Sellards, and Gastiaburu consider that the observations need con- 

 firmation before they can be accepted. 



Phlebotomus papatasii Scopoli, 1786. 



Synonyms. — Cyniphes mohstus Costa, 1840; Hermasson minutus 

 Loew, 1844. 



Newstead reports that there are two distinct colour varieties of 

 this insect — viz. : (i) A uniformly pale variety which is to be con- 

 sidered typical; and (2) a variety with a dark fringe to the costa 

 and hind margin of wing. These two varieties he distinguishes 

 as the pale variety and the dark variety. 



Pale Variety. — Almost uniformly pale, translucent, ochreous; 

 thorax with a long, dull, red-brown median stripe and a single spot 

 of the same colour on either side near the front; wing fringe not 

 markedly darker than the hairs on the disc of the wing. 

 ^•5 Dark Variety. — Female with general colour of pale form, but 

 with wing fringes smoky grey, and some of the hairs on the veins 

 also dark grey or smoky grey. The male was not observed. 



Life-History. — Ovum when first expelled shows the oolemma 

 (interior) and a micropyle at anterior end. The first instar of the 

 larva is caterpillar-like. Two pairs of caudal bristles, one much 

 longer than the other, the other pair very short. Length, 2 to 

 3*28 millimetres. Pupa with abdomen curved upwards in varying 

 degree. The eggs hatch in six to nine days, and the larvae, which 

 live in the earth, become pupae in about eight weeks. The total 

 item of development is about ten to eleven weeks, and the life of the 

 fly is about eight days. 



[' Pathogenicity. — It is the carrier of Pappataci fever. 



Family SiMULiiDiE. 



Synonyms. — Melusinidce, Tipularice Meigen, Simulides Zelt, 

 Simulites Newman, SimulincB Rondani. 



Orthorrhapha nematocerawithoui ocelli; without transverse suture 

 on the thorax; with short legs, in which the posterior tibiae and the 

 first joint of the hind tarsi are dilated; with short, straight, cylin- 

 drical, eleven-jointed antennae without setae. Eyes of the male 

 are large, and meet in the middle line, while those of the female are 

 smaller and separate. Size, i -5 to 4 m.illimetres in length. 



The SimuliidcB or MelusinidcB are the sand-flies, also called 

 * brulots ' or ' potu ' flies, and have a wide distribution, being par- 

 ticularly found in the tropics, but are also well known in Europe. 

 Though small in size, they are great blood-suckers, attacking man 

 and beast, and also other insects, but only the fern-ales suck blood. 



Though there is only one genus, Melusina Meigen, 1800, more 

 correctly known as Simuliiim Latreille, 1802, there are very many 

 species — i.e., about seventy — of which Simulium reptans Latreille 



