Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1905-05-26
The Common House Fly.
Whence He Comes and
Whittier He Goes.
BIZ HAROLD sOnERs. N. A.. s.

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<akoHL HE common house fy (Mus-
q ca pomestica) Is a creature
q \ OF such secretive habits,
= that although from the
view very earliest times he has
been with us, and the most ancient
writer's have mentioned and described
him. still very little was known OF his
origin and history.
1t remained for the eminent Boston
biologist. DR.. A. S. Packard, In 1873, to
make known its origin. habits and
transformations from the. egg through
the larva state with Its two changes to
pupa state, then to the perfect fly.
Near the first of August the female
lays about 40 eggs Of a dull gray
color. selecting fresh horse manure In
which to deposit her eggs. and so Sc
cretes them that they are rarely seep;
1t takes only twenty-four hours for
them to hatch into the first form OF
larva, white worm one-quarter Of an
inch In length and one-tenth in diane
ter. They feed on the decaying matter
Of their environment, and two changes
or casting Of skins occur before they
turn into the pupa state; this change
comes very suddenly. The entire per-
iod from the egg to the pupa state IS
from three to four days. If moist food
Is wanting when in this condition they
win eat each other and thus decrease
their number. Heat and humidity
greatly assist their development. as
upon careful computation each pound
Of manure around stables and out
houses develops under favorable cendi-
tons over 1000 flies. 1t is no wonder
that where these conditions exist we
have such a verltable harvest Of the
hy pest.
In the pupa state when the fly is
about to emerge, the end Of the pupa
case splits of, making hole through
which the fly pushes a portion of its
head, but here it seems to encounter
difficulty; the pupa case Is too stiff and
hard to pass through, but nature comes
to its assistance. and sort of bladder
like substance forms behind the head.
which swells out apparently filed with
air; It acts as q means Of pushing
'away the pupa case and releases the
ny. When the 6y frst emerges it runs
around with its wings soft, small and
baggy; 1t is pale and the colors- are
not set; its head rapidly expands and
the bladder formation passes away
within a few hours the wings grow
and harden, 1t Is now o perfect fly.
The whole time from the depositing
Of the egg to the perfect fly is not over
ten days in duration. Many persons
who observe small flies in midsummer
suppose they are the young. but such
Is not the case; they are dies that are
imperfectly nourished in the larvae
and pupa ftates, and do not attain
full size. in fact. they are the dwarfs
Of their race. The male fly differs
from the female 10 the front Of the
head between the eyes, being at least
one-third narrower, though in size the
female is rather smaller.
In the pupa state they are often fed
upon by the larvae of some of the
beetles, notably that of the carpet bee
tie, whose pupa, the dreaded buffalo
"moth," will attack the young 1y in
the pupa case and eating 1t possess the
case for itself.
Adult flies like most other creatures
have parasites of minute size that prey
upon them; these can often be seen as
presenting small red specks over the
body OF the fy.
The fly hibernates in winter. but
with his usuaLsecretive habit 1t is very
| difficult to find him in his winter quar-
tiers. With the first chill of autumn
the flies feeling the cold, seek temper
airy warmth In houses. and clustering
together form punches in the corners
Of walls and other places. They are
then sluggish and not so active as in
the warm weather. However. they do
not make a permanent stay indoors.
but on the first mild, sunny day. seek
the windows TO get out and find their
permanent winter hiding place; many
1 PANACt " AnuhC uODltS III luC
roots of grass on lawns where they
Tide themselves so effectually that the
ice and snow of winter does not de-
stroy them in their alternating state.
IL in the first warm days of spring
when the snow is gone and the grass
ON the lawns becomes dry and warm.
long before the yellow dandelion shows
its head, q close observer may see num-
bers Of flies crawling up on the grass
to get the welcome sunshine, their
wings standing out stiff and useless.
but they soon acquire the power of
fight IN the warm rays of the sun. A
great many days, however, elapse be-
fore they appear in the homes Of men,
where they are such unwelcome visit
ors.
In recent years the medical profess
sion have demonstrated that while the
ny itself does not propagate disease 1t
Is one Of the most industrious carriers
Of disease germs which by contact adj
here to his feet, hairy legs and body,
distributing them to innocent victims.
If every housekeeper could know all
these interesting facts which have
never before been brought to their at
tention they would realize the impor-
lance OF securing the very best hy ex-
terminator
President Finley of the City college
was recently in Boston, and since that