ii
(4) Kathwai.—This place is high up on the hills. Big trees and watery places are
scarce. There is only one running stream round about in an area of 10 miles. This stream
is also very short. It runs on the surface for about a furlong and a half, and is sub-
terranean in its remaining length. Here I found—
Tabanus (a few adults and several fresh egg masses of them).
Chrysops, several adults and egg masses.
Lyperosia.
Simulium in all its stages, viz., egg, larva, pupa and imago.
Philæmatoinyia.
Hippobosca.
Ticks.
Phlebotomus.
In this place some six camels were detected to have been attacked by surra.
Note.—As the stream is very short, and as there is no permanent watery place in an area of 10 miles, the
breeding of tabanus can be very successfully controlled. It is a known fact that the oviposition of tabanus
requires watery places. The female tabanus preferably attaches her eggs on green vegetation hanging over the
running or still water. In absence of such vegetation they attach their eggs either on stones or on any other
objects in such a way that the emerging larvæ may fall in water. If a trained man be stationed here to
remove all egg masses that are laid on the leaves in the breeding season of tabanus say from February to
October- I see no reason why the rakh cannot be kept free of tabanus.
The same remark applies mutatis mutandis to the simulium. Simulium breeds in-
variably in the running water. In the streams of Sohawa, simulium was absent probably on
account of the presence of great number of hill fishes (trouts). In this stream the presence
of such fishes was also marked, but at one place towards the end the stream splits and the
water takes two narrow courses, up to the length about 20 to 30 yards. Borders of these
streamlets are thickly overgrown with grass and consequently fishes do not like to remain
here. I examined fallen grass and stones in water and found Simulium in their earlier
stages. On sweeping the border grass in the evening which is the suitable time for their
oviposition, several pregnant females were captured. In my opinion if these two currents
were united and grass removed so as to make a suitable way for fishes, the simulium can be
controlled without much difficulty.
(5) Kundian.—This place resembles a desert, except that it is full of a particular
kind of shrub. For about four miles there are no rivers, ponds and puddles. The insects
found here are :—
Lyperosia in an exceedingly great number.
Philæmatomyia in a fairly great number.
Phlebotomus.
Small tabanus near the river side.
Stomoxys as far as I have seen quite absent.
Note.—The total absence of Stomoxys and exceedingly great number of Lyperosia have a direct bearing
on their respective breeding habits.
Stomoxys requires fermented vegetable substances or grass mixed with animal drop-
pings to breed, and the whole life-cycle is rather long—of about a fortnight. In this dry
desert-like place the circumstances are quite unsuitable for stomoxys to breed, whereas
lyperosia breeds in the fresh animal dung and its life-cycle is very short, say about a week.
So these flies breed freely and by the time the dung gets dried up the flies successfully emerge
as imagines. The best way to control these flies is to stop them from breeding, i.e., fresh
dung should be covered with sand instantaneously or to spread the heaps of dung so as to
dry it out quickly.
(6) Mianwali.—The same as Kundian. At Mianwali, while walking on the road
near dak bunglow, we came across some local camels late in the evening. This place was at
least three miles off from the river or any permanent watery place. There was no other pool or
pond near about excepting some puddles of casual rain water. On eximining the brutes we
found three tabanus adults on their bodies; this goes to show that tabanus travels a distance
of about three miles.
(7) Chhab.—The geographical description is the same as that of Kundian except that
it is a hilly place with a few puddles here and there. But no egg mass of tabanus was seen.
The insects found in this place are—
Tabanus (adults).
Lyperosia.
Philæmatomyia.
Ticks.