The Dreaded Tse-Tse Fly.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 183, 3 August 1900, Page 3

The Dreaded Tse-Tse Fly.

Now that we have so many New Zealanders in South Africa, including a contingent in Rhodesia, we shall no doubt be hearing of the murderous little pest called the tse-tse fly, which, in some districts where it abounds, makes it, we are told, almost imposiible to keep domestic stock at all. It has been stated by an English entomological authority that, notwithstanding the difference in climatic conditions between England and So.ith Africa, there was nothing, in his opinion, to prevent this terrible fly from nourishing in Great Britain if it once became established on somewhat dry, elevated ground, where cattle were get-at-able. If this opinion, is correct, it might still more readily thrive in the warmer climate of New Zealand, which makes it desirable that it should not be inadvertently brought here by the means of trading steamers or transports from Africa. We give herewith a representation of the insect, taken from an English farming journal.

' "The tse-tse fly belongs to the order Diptera, and is closely allied to the gad-fly. It is a small insect, not much larger than the common house fly. In South" Africa it abounds in some districts, and there it is impossible to keep domestic live stock/ To cattle its bite ia fatal. It will attack a beast in large numbers, and then the animal's death is only a matter of a few hours. The long, hairy, sabre-like proboscis is forced through the hide of the beast, right up to the head of the fly, which remains in that position, extracting its ■ fill of blood until it is surfeited, when * it injects a quantity of poison from a cell at the base of the proboscis. Curiously enough, the insect does not attack wild animals or human beings.