the night, and there is no doubt that the destruction of cattle
and game during the epidemic considerably lessened the
numbers of this insect pest. In Witu, too, the variety known
there appears to be confined to a very limited area, chiefly
forest, and in which Utwani is included The W a-Gaik are
accustomed to guard against the fly (called locally Ganda §
when driving their cattle through the forest, by doing so at
night, and by lighting large fires, the smoke of which acts as a
protection to the cattle.
So little appears to be known about the tsetse fly, that
the following information concerning it may prove of interest
— “ There are several species of these poisonous two-winged
t h e t s e t s e £ l y \Glossina morsïtans) MAGNIFIED.
A C T U A L SIZE.
flies recorded from various parts of Africa, and the one commonly
found in the Shire highlands is Glossina morsitms,
much resembling, but rather larger than the common housefly.
Its general colour is dark brown, with lighter markings
on-the abdomen, and biting proboscis protruding from underneath
the head, the antennae being distinctly pectinated bristles.
. . . The buffalo, the zebra, and the large family of antelopes
are proof against the poison of the tsetse, and this must have
come about by means of inoculation for ages past. It is difficult
to conceive that a single bite from such an apparently
insignificant fly should prove fatal to large animals, such as
horses and cattle, but that they do succumb is an undoubted
fact The victim after being bitten falls off in condition
, • cnffprs from extreme depression and
ultimately dies from what may be termed
1 species of blood-poisoning: In the British Museum are
specimens of our common tsetse fly from Benin, the Congo,
Witu and Lake Mweru; other species recorded from the
Upper Sabaki river, the Limpopo river, and Somaliland are
also there. There is another fly, in this case a gadfly— Tabanus
latipes, Macq.-—the size and shape of a large blue-bottle fly,
recorded from Witu, and also from Nyasaland, which is
most harassing to cattle and horses. It is a fdrmidable-look-
ing creature, with interrupted brown markings on the wings.
It is reported to be a great scourge in East Africa, and draws
m a g n i f i e d p r o b o s c i s o f t s e t s e f l \ .
blood so freely as to render cattle weak and unfit for work.
The bite is also very painful. There is no mistaking it for
the ordinary gadflies, which are longer in the body, and have
no bars on the wings. With reference to passing domestic
animals rapidly through tsetse-infected districts, it is said that
smearing the body of the animal all over with cow manure
in a semi-liquid state renders it proof against the bite of the
fly. This I can quite believe, as, curious to say, cow-dung is
most offensive to many insects belonging to widely different
families of the insect kingdom. I am strongly of opinion
that a mixture of kerosene oil and cow-dung would be found
a most effectual application in warding off the tsetse.
Mr. Selous, the well-known African hunter and explorer,
1 Report on the Botanical Aspects o f British Central Africa, by Mr.
Alexander White, Foreign Office, 1895, No. 373.