'5 
Geratopogon pulicaris, Linn. 
Plate i, fig. 2. 
In certain localities in England in the latter part of April and 
beginning of May, 1904, this midge was especially abundant, and 
much inconvenience was caused by its bites. A correspondent 
writing from Romford, Essex, on April 28th, with reference to the 
multitudes of Ceratopogon pulicaris with which the town was then 
afflicted, said : — " They swarm in countless myriads, and their bite is 
very virulent, to me worse than a bee-sting, or the bite of any gnat. 
I have never seen them before in anything like the quantities, neither 
have I known the effects to be so severe and lasting. No doubt the 
hot sun and damp soil have brought them out, as in the tundras." 
Writing again on May 1st, the same correspondent said: — "The 
insects were in such large numbers that by just turning a killing- 
bottle through the air I soon got a pill box full. Many of my 
neighbours had lumps on their necks, and their faces like measles, 
while some of the workmen ' struck.' " In many other localities near 
London, such as Epping Forest, Harrow, and the suburb of Stoke 
Newington, this pest was also very prevalent at the same time, and in 
Ceratopogon pulicaris, Linn. (9), in resting position (x 12). 
