With the rapid development of Northern Nigeria, following the British administration and the completion of the railway from Lagos to Kano, problems hitherto of minor importance are continually coming into prominence. Amongst these the abatement of trypanosomiasis is a matter of medical and entomological interest. As the confidence of the people grows there is an increase of intercommunication, which inevitably involves a danger of the spread of such diseases as sleeping sickness from existing foci. In Northern Nigeria these foci are at present peculiarly isolated, but they will gradually lose their isolation as the efforts made to stimulate the agricultural development of the country meet with greater success and the growing demand for roads, feeders for the railway, and better means of transport, is satisfied. In a densely populated and naturally fertile country like Ilorin the problem of avoiding this danger is particularly insistent, but unfortunately also particularly difficult. In the neighbouring province of Kabba sleeping sickness is said to be endemic, and might readily move westwards with the opening up of the interior ; and in a large part of the province of Ilorin itself tsetse-flies already spread disease amongst the cattle and horses to such an extent that these animals cannot live. Nevertheless, during the dry season, herds of cattle pass, day after day, in an almost continuous stream along the highroads on their way to Lagos from the north. How many die on the journey no one can tell, for the fate of those that sicken is to be butchered by the way, and it is a common experience to come across a carcase hewn up and laid out for sale by the road-side (Pl. I, fig. 1).

The following are a few observations made on the larvae of Auchmeromyia luteola taken in Uganda. The larvae were kept in glass-topped cardboard boxes containing earth. Several attempts were made to feed them on the less hairy parts of puppies but in no case did they make any attempt to draw blood. I then placed some on my own hand. In only one instance was this successful, the details of the feeding being described below.

Meat, crushed ticks, bananas were placed in the boxes at various times, but so far as could be gathered, they were left untouched. By dampening the earth with water every few days larvae were kept alive up to a month. They would probably have lived longer were it not that the exigencies of constant travelling caused their neglect. The small immature larvae however did not seem to grow, those which pupated having been mature, or almost so, at the time of capture. The longest period between capture and pupation was 12 days, and this larva was full of blood when taken and two days later its alimentary tract was still red with blood.

Ovisac formed of thickly felted creamy-white to buff-white secretion ; dorsum highly convex longitudinally and slightly so transversely, with a series of 11 longitudinal and crenulated keels or ridges, of which the lateral ones are very broad and flange-like and arise from points on the body of the female considerably nearer the middle line than any of the others ; sides vertical, with two or three curved or concentric keels similar to those on the dorsum, but there are also small transverse intervening lines which give the sides of the ovisac a distinctly conchoidal appearance ; interior of ovisac smooth. Length, 6·50 to 8·50 mm. ; height, 6 to 7·50 mm. ; width, 6 to 7·25 mm. Old adult female tilted as in Pulvinaria so that the front, which is distinctly produced, is the only portion attached to the food-plant. In some instances the position of the body is almost vertical, and in one example the anal portion projects actually slightly in front of the cephalic margin. Dorsum with a median elongated patch of opaque glassy secretion, the rest nude and dark brown in colour.

This parasite approaches Neumann's Haematopinus (Polyplax) maniculatus, but is immediately recognised by the truncate proboscis, by the “ olecranon process ” of the hind pair of legs, and by the remarkable “ comb ” which terminates the abdomen of the ♀. Perhaps a new genus should be made to receive it.

Linear, abdomen about four times the length of the head and thorax together. Head very broad, proboscis truncate, its lateral margins diverging to as far as the antennae, behind which the head enlarges at right angles. Post-antennal area rectangular, broad ; the occipital margin a little convex. At each posterior angle a long hair ; on the under surface, at about the level of the antennae, two short bristles, one on each side. Antennae of five segments, the first being thick and stout, the second narrower and the longest, the third short, and the fourth broad with a sharp prominence at the post-axial distal corner. Adjoining the prominence a small circular sense-organ which crosses the joint and occupies part of the base of the terminal segment. The latter is longer than the third or fourth, and has several spines at the end. Thorax broader than the head and broader behind than in front. A large flattened spheroidal spiracle at each lateral margin.

The following notes consist of corrections and additions to my previous papers on African Culicidae. Several errors have become apparent, due either to carelessness or insufficient study of the material available, or insufficiency of the material itself. These are corrected. One or two apparently new species have been received and are now described ; the description of one or two others, owing to the scanty material and doubtful systematic position, is left for a future paper.

The principal object of my visit to Antigua, during December 1912, was to study an outbreak of the twig borer of limes which had been reported by the Superintendent of Agriculture from two localities in the island.

At the time of my visit, owing to recent pruning, there were only occasionally infested branches to be seen, but these were in sufficient number to enable me to form a very good opinion of the nature of the attack and of the general habits of the insect.

The attack on a lime branch apparently always begins on a small twig. I am not able to say whether the twig on or in which the egg is laid is dead or dying at the time of egg-laying ; but in every instance of attack observed by me, both in the field and in specimens forwarded, the twig has been found entirely eaten out, the dead interior connecting with the tunnel in the larger branch from which the twig springs. This branch is always more or less girdled by the tunnel of the grub. The girdling seems to be the first thing done by the grub after completing the destruction of the smaller twig and it results in the death of the branch beyond the point of the girdle. The tunnel does not circle the twig in such a manner as to cut it off completely, but the direction is rather in a spiral, so that as the injury to the branch becomes more and more felt, it breaks down and is usually left hanging. The entire grub and pupa stages are passed within this branch, the adult beetle only issuing from the dead branch some time after emerging from its pupal condition.

During the past few months a large amount of Coccid material has been submitted to me for identification through the Imperial Bureau of Entomology. A large proportion of the species came from Uganda where they were collected by the Government Entomologist, Mr. C. C. Gowdey ; smaller collections were also received from other parts of Africa, including Zanzibar ; and from Barbados from Mr. John R. Bovell, Superintendent of Agriculture. Nearly all of the new species which have so far come to hand are described in this paper ; and records and descriptions of other species are also given where it has been thought desirable to do so.

The following observations were made during eighteen days spent at Tokar in October and November, 1912. Only a limited amount of time could be given to the work of searching for the breeding places of sandflies, but it is thought that possibly these very brief notes may be of some interest to those engaged in similar research elsewhere.

The town of Tokar is situated about eighteen miles from the port of Trinkitat on the Red Sea and some fifty-eight miles south-east of Suakin. It is the centre of a cotton-growing area comprising between 30,000 and 40,000 acres watered by the flood-river (or khor) Baraka. This khor comes down in flood during the months of July and August and spreads over the plain. As soon as the land is dry enough it is cleaned and almost the whole of it sown to cotton. A few heavy rainstorms usually occur during the months of October, November and December, and cotton picking extends from the latter month till May. The soil is alluvial, and on drying cracks vertically to a depth of several feet, and also horizontally, forming shale-like plates of varying thicknesses. There are scarcely any trees and only a moderate number of low bushes.

The following is a description of a modified and improved form of the store-box described by Mr. H. Maxwell-Lefroy in Parasitology, vol. iv, p. 174 :—

In Khartoum, where the shade temperature is sometimes 116° F., boxes of the type in use at Pusa were found to be unsuitable. The tops and bottoms of many of them split, while the paraffin wax became too soft to hold the cork carpet in position. The type of box which I am now using and which is proving very reliable, differs from the Pusa box in two respects. Instead of being made entirely of teak, the top and bottom are of three-ply wood, and the cork carpet instead of being bedded in paraffin wax is held in position by glue. In all other respects it resembles the Pusa box, the cork carpet being enamelled white above and covered with a mixture of 80 per cent. paraffin wax (melting point 136° F.) and 20 per cent. naphthaline, melted and run in when the glue has become firm.

Clear pale lemon yellow. The antenna with the 4th to 9th joints very pale grey. Third joint very small, a little longer than broad, about half the length of the second joint. Fourth joint rather slender, the length of the 2nd and 3rd taken together. The fifth about one-quarter shorter, about the same width. The 6th, 7th and 8th subequal, about the same length as the 5th but rather broader. Wings hyaline, with a very slight shadow below the vein, very nearly nine times as long as the greatest width (·525 × ·06 mm., approximately). Marginal cilia moderately strong, the longest ·132 mm. There is a line of hairs running along the middle of the wing from the apex of the vein to near the apex of the wing ; between this and the front margin there is another line of about twelve hairs, rather irregular, and there are a few hairs irregularly placed in the apical area. Between the central line and the hind margin there is an irregular line of about eight hairs, but they are not the same on both wings. Hind wings free from surface hairs, except three or four at the extreme apex. The posterior cilia moderately stout, except the first three or four, the longest about ·1 mm.

Thorax slate-grey, pattern indistinguishable; scutellum with two dark triangular areas which are contiguous at their upper inner angles. Abdomen with the darker blotches on each side of the second segment very faint ; on the other segments the banding is not a prominent feature, as it is in the typical form; the bands olive-grey, their margins being distinct and defined from the ground-colour, which is a few shades lighter. In the middle line the banding is cut off square, leaving a very narrow straight line down the centre of the segments ; the outer margins of the bands sloping away from below upwards and leaving light areas on each side. Legs with all the joints of the front and middle tarsi pale, except the distal end of the latter which has a faint darkish ring ; the last two joints of the hind tarsi faintly dark, but nothing like so dark as in G. morsitans. Wings tinged with light yellowish-brown.