138 
Psyche 
[ Sept. 
Summary 
Original observations on the seasonal distribution, 
abundance, oviposition, egg masses, incubation period, 
probable larvae and the pupae of Tabanus atratus subsp. 
nantuckensis Hine are given. Males were taken from 
July 12th to August 27th and females from August 19th 
to September 11th on the saltmarshes of Essex County, 
Massachusetts. A figure of two egg masses, one super- 
posed on the other by a captive female, shows that the 
structural plan is notably different from that of typical 
atratus figured by Schwardt (1936) and noted by him to 
be specifically distinct. The ratio of length to width is 
not over 2 : 1 for typical atratus egg masses while those 
of the subspecies nantuckensis may be 7 : 1 and are nor- 
mally at least 3 : 1. The incubation period was 7-9 days 
for egg masses kept indoors between August 19th and 
September 7th. Probable larvae of this subspecies occur 
rather commonly in soggy mats of plant debris on bare 
mud or where shallow water covers the mud. Pupal cases 
are numerous in the marsh drift but living pupae are only 
rarely recovered from the piles of straw. The question 
of the validity of the present status of these variants of 
Tabanus atratus Fabricius is raised. Telenomus goni- 
opis Crawford is reported as an egg parasite of this 
species for the first time and with a notable extension 
of its range. 
Bibliography 
Bailey, N. S. 1947. Psyche, 54(1) : 62-64. 
Cameron, A. E. 1926. Bull. Ent. Res., 17(1) : 14-17. 
Crawford, J. C. 1913. Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum, 45: 243-244. 
Hart, C. A. 1895. Entomology of the Illinois River, pp. 242—247. 
Hine, J. S. 1903. Ohio Acad. Sci., Special Paper No. 5: 4-5. 
1906. U.S.D.A. Tech. Series 12(11): 36-38. 
1917. Ohio. Jour. Sci., 17: 271. 
Johnson, C. W. 1919. Psyche, 26: 163-164. 
Philip, C. B. 1947. Amer. Midi. Nat., 37(2) : 302-303. 
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Walsh, B. D. 1863. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 9: 304. 
