♀ Nigra; thorace brevissimo, fusco-ferrugineo; tergitis tribus basalibus fascia apicali angusta pallide aureo-sericea; area pygidiali nulla.

With the exception of a few isolated records nothing is known of the Coccidae of Southern Rhodesia. Dr. Brain has made a study of the family in the Union of South Africa, the results of which are to be found in his excellent Monograph,* and Prof. Newstead has described many interesting and hitherto unknown forms from Central Africa in the earlier volumes of this Bulletin.

Understanding the blood-feeding patterns of mosquitoes is essential for evaluating their potential as disease vectors, especially in urban areas where mosquitoes coexist with humans, domestic animals and wildlife. This study aimed to bridge a substantial gap in regional knowledge by identifying the blood meal sources of field-collected mosquitoes in domestic and open green environments from two urbanisations of temperate Argentina, the Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (AMBA) and Tandil, using molecular techniques. Female mosquitoes were collected from November 2019 to March 2020 and April–May 2021. A bipartite network analysis was performed for each environment and urbanisation. A total of 103 blood meals from Aedes (2 species) and Culex (7 species) were identified. Among these, five mammal and 18 bird species were recognised as hosts. Aedes mosquitoes exclusively fed on mammals, while Culex mosquitoes exhibited a broader host range including both birds and mammals. In AMBA, the open green environments were composed by more mosquito species than the domestic environments, while both presented similar numbers of vertebrate species. In contrast, in open green environments from Tandil only blood-fed Aedes albifasciatus were collected. For open green environments of AMBA and domestic environments of Tandil, results suggested some degree of host selection. For the three main vectors of diseases in the region, Aedes aegypti, Ae. albifasciatus and Culex pipiens molestus, we present the first molecular evidence of human blood meals in South America. Epidemiological significance of the present findings is discussed.

A high diversity library of recombinant human antibodies was selected on complex antigen mixtures from midguts of female Anopheles gambiae Giles. The library of phage-displayed single chain variable region fragment constructs, derived from β-lymphocyte mRNA of naïve human donors, was repeatedly selected and reamplified on the insoluble fraction of midgut homogenates. Five rounds of panning yielded only one midgut-specific clone, which predominated the resulting antibody panel. In A. gambiae, the epitope was found throughout the tissues of females but was absent from the midgut of males. The cognate antigen proved to be detergent soluble but very sensitive to denaturation and could not be isolated or identified by Western blot of native electrophoresis gels or by immunoprecipitation. Nevertheless, immunohistology revealed that this sex-specific epitope is associated with the lumenal side of the midgut. Severe bottlenecking may limit the utility of phage display selection from naïve libraries for generating diverse panels of antibodies against complex mixtures of antigens from insect tissues. These results suggest that the selection of sufficiently diverse antibody panels, from which mosquitocidal or malaria transmission-blocking antibodies can be isolated, may require improved selection methods or specifically enriched pre-immunized libraries.

Some form of short-period fever, apparently sandfly fever, seems to have been giving trouble in the Gallipoli area. This fact, together with the small amount of information at present available on the life-histories of the species comprising the genus Phlebotomus, has led me to publish the present note in the hope that it might be of use to medical officers by giving them easily-seen characters by which the early stages of three species may be differentiated. In collaboration with my assistant Mr. Patel, I have been engaged for some time in collecting material for a complete account of the life-histories of these species, but as the publication of this memoir must be deferred to a later date, the present article contains merely a few points which are likely to prove useful under practical conditions of working in the field, and a note on the very curious larval tail-bristles.

La Glossina brevipalpis est certainement l'espèce de glossine la plus répandue, dans certaines régions du moins, après la G. morsitans et la G. palpalis, mais elle a des moeurs si particulières que, sans les connaître, on ne peut découvrir son existence que par un simple hasard. En effet, les moeurs de la G. brevipalpis sont vespérales et, en partie, matinales, après le lever et surtout avant et après le coucher du soleil. Durant le reste de la journée la mouche est complétement inactive et se tient cachée (dans les herbes?).

Through the kindness of my friend Dr. James Waterston, the Authorities of the British Museum have sent me for examination a certain number of preparations containing some fig insects from various parts of the world. One of the species in this material, Otitesella digitata, Westw., has already been studied and figured by me in a recent paper;* some of the others are dealt with below.

Illingworth (1926) published his experiences with Sarcophaga fuscicauda, a fly regarded by him as being of medical importance, and he also suggested it was being transported over the Orient by shipping. There can be little doubt concerning the identity of the fly, this being identical with that published under the same name by Senior-White (1924); both authors included Queensland in its distribution.

Pseudococcus bicaudatus, Keuchenius, Medel. v.h. Besoekisch Proefstation, Djemba, No. 16, 1915, p. 63 [see also Review of Applied Entomology, Nov. 1915, p. 647].

The author's detailed description of the supposed new species shows quite clearly that he is dealing with Pseudococcus virgatus, described by Cockerell in 1893. The species occurs commonly throughout the tropics of both hemispheres and has been described by different authors under several names, e.g. ceriferus (Newstead), talini (Green), and marchali (Vayssière).

Fiorinia morrisi, Brittin, Trans. N.Z. Inst., Wellington, xlvii, 1914 (issued July 1915), p. 149 [see also Rev. Appl. Entom., Dec. 1915, p. 74].

Through the courtesy of the author, I have had an opportunity of examining typical examples of this insect, and find that they agree with examples of F. asteliae (ex coll. W. M. Maskell). Fiorinia asteliae is now considered to be a synonym of F. gigas of Maskell, and both have been rightly relegated to the genus Leucaspis.

In pursuing my studies of the genital armature of the tsetse-flies, I have been fortunate in securing some valuable and interesting material from various parts of the African continent which has enabled me to offer a further contribution on the specific characters of the recently discovered Glossina austeni, Newst., from British East Africa; to present a detailed account of the armature of the apparently rare G. fuscipleuris, Aust., and to clear up some doubtful points in regard to the structural details of the male genital armature in G. longipennis, Corti. Later I hope to be able to offer some further remarks on G. palpalis, R.D., especially in regard to the colour and structural variations existing in this species. Meanwhile I may here state, for the guidance of the student, that G. fuscipes, Newst., which was described by me as a distinct species, must sink as a well-marked race of G. palpalis.

For some years past, when using insecticide dusts on a small scale, we have employed a very simple, improvised apparatus as a distributor, which has given such satisfactory results that we venture to describe it.

During the months of January to April, 1923, a study was undertaken of the hibernation of Anopheline mosquitos in Palestine. Previous experience indicated that the activity of these mosquitos was greatly redused during the winter months. It remained, however, to determine whether this inactivity was relative or absolute, that is, whether it was due to real hibernation or only to either retarded development of the immature stages or inhibited activity of the adults. Such information is, of course, of first importance in any attempt at intelligent control of malaria.

In 1925, the writer (2) described some experiments that demonstrated the rôle of Helopeltis as a pest of cotton at Ibadan, Nigeria. Evidence was obtained that attack was greater on the improved indigenous Ishan (Gossypium barbadense, formerly described as G. vitifolium) than on either American Allen (G. hirsutum) or the ordinary native cotton (G. peruvianum).

Palpus upcurved, the 2nd segment broadly and smoothly scaled in front, its distal extremity reaching the level of the vertex of the head, the 3rd segment long and acuminate (blunter in the male than in the female). Frons rounded, smoothly scaled. Tibiae with outer spurs half as long as inner. Fore wing with veins R3+R4 anastomosed for three-fourths of their length, R2 closely approximated to them, R5 almost straight and diverging from them; veins M2, M3, and Cu1 arising close together from lower angle of cell, vein Cu2 from cell at about five-sixths. Hind wing with vein Sc anastomosing with vein Rs to near apex; veins M2, M3, Cu1, and Cu2 disposed as in fore wing.

A species of Gelechiid moth bred from larvae living in galls on the leaves of an unidentified species of Eugenia in New Ireland is described as new and is named Idiophantis eugeniae sp. n. The species is differentiated from I. chiridota Meyr., to which it is closely related and which occurs in the Indo-Malayan region. Illustrations are given of the adult male and the genitalia of both sexes.

While investigating the Anophelini of Southern Rhodesia in connection with the research on blackwater fever conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, an undescribed variety of Anopheles funestus, Giles, was taken in the dry season. Nine males and eight females were collected from May to August 1927, near Shamva, and one male and one female in July 1928, in the Fungwi Native Reserve. All were caught out-of-doors except two females, one of which was taken in a shed constructed of grass and the other in a native hut. The remainder were taken in close association with the earth; in surface drains, caves and crevices in rocks. No specimens were taken in or near European habitations, but all in undeveloped country. No adults were bred out, so that the following description is based on individuals captured “wild.” The larva is unknown.

The larvae of Uranotaenia ornata, Theo., are commonly found in pineapple plants in the neighbourhood of Lagos, Nigeria, and invariably in company with Harpagomyia larvae.