THE ‘‘NO-SEE-UM”’’ OR ‘‘PUNKIE.’’ lil 
ing to find a suitable spot to insert their long proboscis. 
They usually select places where they are protected by hairs, 
and soon cause the blood to flow over the infested area. 
When filled with blood they drop to the ground, being al- 
most too heavy to fly. Other flies of the same kind, at- 
tracted by the blood, are sure to add to the previous injury, 
and soon large sore spots are the consequence, which are al- 
ways crowded with new and hungryinsects. They can, when 
numerous, make the infested animal perfectly wild and un- 
manageable, and those that can reach water invariably 
make for it, so as to escape their tormenters. Man does not 
escape, though in his case usually only the exposed part, the 
head and hands, can be bitten. 
This fly belongs to a family of insects which are, as a 
general rule, plant-feeders, and some species of Oscinis are 
known to be very destructive to our small grains and to our 
vegetables. Whether the early stages of this ‘‘Yellow-legged 
Oscinis”’ are also passed as vegetable-feeders the writer does 
not know, but it is very likely that such is the case. 
Poo NO-SEE-UM OR “PUNITE.” 
( Ceratopogon spec.). 
This is another fly that is very aggressive, attacking 
man and domesticated animals wherever it can. It 1s well- 
named by‘our Indians the ‘‘No-see-um,’’ being so very small 
that it can only be felt but not seen. It is a mere speck of 
matter, and it is difficult to understand how this small being 
can harbor the vast amount of ‘‘cussedness”’ it is known to 
possess. As the illustration (fig. 142) shows, it is well 
equipped with a biting mouth, and those that have ever 
visited the northern lakes and woods know from experience 
that the insect knows how to apply this tool. Whenever 
these flies light upon the hands and face they immediately 
insert this proboscis in the flesh, and judging from the burn- 
ing sensation these bites cause, alarge amount of poison 
must be injected at the same time. Where these tormenters 
abound the finest scenery loses its attraction, and the disap- 
pointed visitor leaves the spot with some forcible expressions 
—if not spoken with his lips they are nevertheless thought. 
