ENTOMOLOGY

SANITARY ENTOMOLOGYbe found in low places whe-re the ground is continuouslY wet. They areusually quite near ilie surface, and can be located by scratching in the mudand grass humus with the fingers. Where there is an accumulation of olddead grass matted down ·in water, larvle are frequently found in thisgrass. While this species pref~rs quite wet conditions, it is capable ofwithstanding considerable drought. In making a test of drought resistanceI allowed one or two breeding jars containing larvre of this speciesto dry out completely .. One larva survived these conditions and produceda perfect adult. The exact length of the larval stage of this specieshas not yet been determined.I have found the larvre of Tabanus plllflctifer to be quite numerousalong the shore of a lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There wasconsiderable debris,-weeds, grass, and bulrushes washed up on theshore. It was in this mass of partially decomposed vegetation keptsaturated by the waves of the lake, that the larvre seemed to flourish.Another Tabanus larva of an unidentified species was found in thesame general locality in the moi~t earth along the sides of small rivuletshigh up on the lower mountain slopes.Prof. Hine records finding the larvre of Tabanus viva.r Osten Sackenin Ohio in the mud of a stream bed under' riffles.Likewise, King found larvre of Taban'US kingi in the Egyptian Sudan,under stones in a shallow stream where the water rippled over and aroundthe stones. The larvre were usually found ·under rocks not covered bywater. These larvle possessed pseudopodia specially fitted' for clinging tothe stones and crawling up to the surface of the water to breathe.The same writer found the larvre of Tabanus ditaeniatus living in mudat the bottom of a more sluggish stream, and coming to the surface ofthe water periodically to breathe.King also mentions rearing adults of Taban'US par from eggs obtainedin a cage. The larvre were kept in jars of mud, and this mud wasallowed to dry up several times, and for a period of 57 days no growthwas made, yet when normal conditions were restored, the larvre began togrow and completed development. This is somewhat in line with my ownexperience with Taban'US phaenops, already mentioned,In the Philippines, Mitzmain found larvre and pupre of Taban'IUatriatus in large numbers in sand at many points on the shore of Lagunade Bay.Neave records finding Tabanus larvle in Northern Rhodesia in Julyand August in the sand and mud of river banks. They often occurred,especially if the mud was inclined to be dry, at a depth of as much as·6 or 8 inches.According to Hine some species of Tabanus larvre live in water for atime and crawl out into dry ground, consequently one often finds Tabanid