The following notes embody the results of observations made during a year of service (May 1913 to May 1914) as the Entomologist in the Agricultural Department of the Southern Provinces, Nigeria. They do not, however, pretend to cover more than a very limited area of the Western Province, for on account of the desirability of beginning the work by making myself acquainted with local conditions by a careful study of the insect problems at the head-quarters of the Department, at Moor Plantation, Ibadan, I suggested that the first few months of my tour should be spent there, hoping afterwards to be afforded an opportunity, which unfortunately was not forthcoming, of making a more general survey of the insect pests of the country. I have confined my remarks to insects which are to be looked on as real pests, and have made no reference to the bionomics of other insects which I have observed to be associated with the indigenous flora. I have classified the pests according to the plant attacked, and have added to my account of each notes as to the measures found useful in dealing with them.

The Acari dealt with in this paper were collected by Dr. G. F. Petrie during his plague investigations in Egypt. My best thanks are due to him and also to the authorities of the Lister Institute for their kindness in permitting me to examine this collection.

The material under consideration was collected by Mr. G. F. Hill, Government Entomologist, at, or in the neighbourhood of, Port Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It consists principally of cosmopolitan species, two only being peculiar to the country.

Head, antennae, rostrum, pronotum, scutellum, body beneath and legs black; posterior lobe of pronotum, posterior angular areas of prosternum, and a sub-basal discal suffusion to abdomen beneath, dark sanguineous; intermediate and posterior tibiae broadly annulated with pale luteous; corium and membrane pale grey hyaline, a black spot at apical angle to corium; head shorter than pronotum; antennae with the first joints reaching apex of head, second longest thickened towards apex,

third and fourth subequal in length; pronotum with the lateral margins distinctly pilose, posterior lobe granulose, anterior lobe more coarsely so; membrane extending beyond the abdominal apex, third and fourth subequal in length; pronotum with the lateral margins distinctly pilose, posterior lobe granulose, anterior lobe more coarsely so; membrane extending beyond the abdominal apex.

Antennae ⅔, basal joint with distinct pecten; serrate and shortly ciliate in ♂. Labial Palpi long, recurved, both joints smoothly but somewhat thickly clothed, with furrow beneath; terminal joint distinctly shorter than median. Maxillary Palpi appressed to haustellum. Haustellum well-developed, scaled. Ocelli absent. Head and Thorax smoothly clothed with appressed scales. Forewings elongatelanceolate, apex blunt-pointed: neuration, 12 veins; 7–8 stalked, 7 to costa; rest separate, 2 remote from 3, 5 approximate to 4; 1 basally furcate. Hindwings 1+, trapezoidal, apex pointed, termen sinuate beneath: neuration, 8 veins; 6–7 very closely approximate toward base; 3–4 connate; 5 parallel to 4. Abdomen moderate. Legs: hind tibiae and the long basal joint of tarsi haired above, laterally compressed.

♂. Head and thorax white; antennae black; palpi and sides of head black-brown; prothorax and sides of metathorax with tufts of long black hair slightly glossed with metallic blue, the patagia with black spots near base and black tips; pectus, legs and abdomen black-brown, the last with the dilated anal segment whitish, the rest of abdomen with tufts of long black hair on dorsum and at sides slightly glossed with metallic blue. Forewing grey, the base suffused with black-brown, the rest of wing with numerous black-brown spots which tend to become bars on terminal half below the cell and vein 4. Hindwing black-brown, with traces of deeper black-brown spots on terminal half.

In 1909, the writer collected egg-masses of the seroot Tabanus taeniola, P. de B., and reared some of the resulting larvae to approaching maturity, but failed to obtain the pupa. The following year he took a number of immature larvae of Tabanus ditaeniatus, Macq., and reared them to the adult stage. The various stages in the life-cycles of these two Tabanids, with the exception of the pupa of the former and the egg-mass of the latter species, were figured and described in this Bulletin. The puparium of T. taeniola and egg-masses of T. ditaeniatus which are here figured and described were obtained during the summer of 1913.

The following descriptions are based on material submitted by various collectors to the Imperial Bureau of Entomology. The types of the new species will be deposited in the British Museum.

All the species of scale-insects described in this paper were found at Peradeniya, Ceylon.