6i 
trait is in accordance with the well-known predilection of other blood- 
sucking Diptera, such as Anopheles and Hcematopota, for resting 
upon dark surfaces. The localities and dates of the Museum series of 
specimens are as follows : — Felden, Boxmoor, Herts, September 5th, 
1895(^4. Piffard) ; Lewes, Sussex, June 5th, 1870 (G. H. Verrall); 
Torcross, S. Devon, August 25th, 1903, and Porthcawl, Glamorgan- 
shire, S. Wales, May 31st, 1903 {Lieut-Colonel Yerbury). 
Colonel Yerbury contributes the following note : — " In the British 
Isles this seems to be an uncommon insect. It has been caught on 
the backs of cattle^at Barmouth (Merioneth), Porthcawl (Glamorgan- 
shire), and Torcross (S. Devon). These flies collect in numbers on 
the withers of young cattle, but are, as may be imagined, difficult to 
catch. The writer while catching them on the back of one beast got 
his net hung up on the horns of another, with disastrous consequences to 
the net. This, or a very closely allied species has the same habits in 
Ceylon, and was found in great numbers near Trincomali, on the backs 
of the village cattle." 
The geographical range of L. irritans doubtless includes the 
whole of Europe, since it is known to extend from Central 
Scandinavia to Italy, where, according to Rondani, it attacks horses 
as well as cattle. The species has been introduced into the United 
States, where it is stated to have the habit of clustering in masses 
about the base and on the concave side of the horns of cattle, and 
has consequently been termed the " Horn-fly." First observed on 
cattle in New Jersey and Maryland in the summer and autumn 
of the year 1887, it is said to be now generally distributed 
throughout the United States and Eastern Canada. The Museum 
possesses a specimen from Vernon, British Columbia, where it was 
taken by Miss Ricardo on July 25th, 1902. The species is known to 
American writers by its synonym Hcematobia serrata, Rob.-Desv. 
