St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-09-19

a vacuum is formed, on the same prin-
ciple as in the atmospheric hat-peg, the
plate e-holder' of the photographer. or
the artificial gums of the dentist. When
the fly wishes to move leg from its
brought down and pressed against the
surface; from their position they raise
the hinder part of the pulvillus (cush-
ion). where the tenent hairs are least
developed, first, and SO on forwards. If
the claws were attached to the fifth
joint. as it has been supposed, they
could not act equally well in the way /
have mentioned; and think a flv when
once stuck fast, if it had no claws, might
remain so.
1t should be noticed, as any one may
do, that the fly. like all insects, moves
the legs of each pair alternately in
walking. After all, the pressure of the
atmosphere is the main agent by which
fly is able to adhere to perfectly
smooth surfaces.
Flies are distinguished from most 9TH
er insects by having but single pair of
wings; what corresponds to the second
or hinder pair in other insects being Il
pair of knob-like ..balancers." The
flight of the house fly is most rapid in
warm. sultry weather. We all know
how busy and pertinacious their move
ments are in dog-day weather.
1t has been found that a common f1t
when held captive moves its wings three
hundred and thirty times minute.
whereas hOney-bee, whose powers of
continued flight are much greater,
moves its wings one hundred and ninety
times in the same period. The wings
describe figure in the air.
The buzz of the fly has been carefully
studied by Landois. During flight the
fiy's buzz or hum is in a relatively low
tone; when it is held so that the wings
can not move the buzz is higher in pitch.
and it is higher still when the fly is held
so that all motion of the external parts
is prevented. The last mentioned is
the true voice of the insect; it is pro-
duced by the breathing holes of the
thorax. The buzz of the fly thus ex-
presses the emotions of the creature:
the low hum being one of contentment.
the shrill, excited buzz one of alarm and
disturbance.
When a fly alights upon our hand or
face on a hot day it is for the purpose
of tapping the perspiration from the
skin. How this is done is curious
study. When the fly, to quote from
our '.Guide to the Study of Insects"
settles upon lump of sugar, or other
sweet object, it unbends and extends
T.. <orrr,o onl tbo br,oI tnoh Glya ,rj
divides into two fat. muscular leaves,
which thus present a sucker-like sur
face, with which the fly laps up liquid
sweets. These two leaves are supported
upon q framework of chitinous rods,
which act as a set of springs to open
and shut the muscular leaves. The
inside of this broad fleshy expansion is
rough like a rasp, and, as Newport
states, is easily employed by the insect
in scraping or tearing delicate surfaces.
1t is by means of this curious structure
that the busy house-fiy occasions much
mischief to the covers of our books. by
scraping off the albuminous polish, and
leaving traces of its depredations in the
soiled and spotted appearance which it
occasions on them.
The structure of the fly's tongue, and
of the whole apparatus for taking its
food, has engaged the attention in late
years of some of our best anatomists of
insects. Its structure is so complicated
and difficult to understand. and labored
anatomical descriptions are so dry, that
we will not here describe it, but content
ourselves with referring the reader for
an excellent description of the flv's
proboscis to Professor Macloskie's
article in the american Naturalist for
March, 1880. Suffice it 70 say that the
fly has not, as have beetles and grass
hoppers, free jaws and accessory jaws
for biting and tearing the food, but all
the mouth-parts of other insects are
by the fly's proboscis, the
larger part of which is formed by the
under lip; the enlarged and variously
modified fleshy extremity of which
forms sucking organ. What little
food is taken by the fly is fluid; sweet
fluids are its favorite diet.
But whence come the swarm of mid
flies, and how do they keep in
creasing through August? What be-
comes of them in the winter? How
long do they live, and what of the man.
ner of life of their young? Are the
III flies the children of the larger
ones?
So little was known about the early
history of the house-fly that we once
and with fair success. to
study its transformations. During Au-
gust the house-fy is particularly abund
ant, and especially SO in and about sta
bles. On placing a fly in bottle she
laid between six p. m, August II, and
eight o'clock the next morning, one
and twenty eggs. They were
deposited irregularly in stacks. lying
loose in two piles at the bottom of the
bottle. The next day several maggots.
as the larvar are called. were observed
about in the bottom of the
bottle Afterwards by placing a mass
Of offal in the sun. the flies came and
laid their little white slender eggs, which
hatched out, so that thousands of writh-
ing maggots abounded in the mass.
1t was found that the young maggots
hatched in twenty-four hours after the
eggs were laid. At first they are but
little larger than the eggs. After re-
in the first stage for one day
the maggot moults, being little larger
than before. After another day it sheds
its skin a second time and enters upon
the third cte ro ~ ;te l~rval life which