The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-07-13
lie Common House Fly.
Whence he Cones and Whittier Ha
Goes.
Ey HAROLD SOMERS, II. =.

tive HABITS trGL altNou6n lioAA 'iAN
very earliest tires he has been with
us, anI the r.ost ancient writer's nave
mentioned and described him, still
very little MAS known OF his origin
and history.
u rename. for the eminent Bos-
tn .t,c~is-, DR.. A. S. Packard, IN
1y-s. , make known his origin, hab-
~ an. transformations from the egg
1.ror"l The .arva state with Its two
ercn-cs 10 the pupa state, then 70
the perfect fly.
Near the first Of August the female
lays about 10 eggs CT dull gray
color. selecting fresh horse manure
IN which - deposit her eggs. and 50
secret les them that they are rarely
seen: il takes only twenty-four hours
for them to hatch into the first form
OF larva. a white worm one-Quarter
Of an inch in length and one-tenth IN
diameter. They feed on the decaying
matter of their environment, and tWo
changes or casting of skins occur be-
fore they turn into the pupa state;
this change comes very suddenly.
The entire period from the egg to the
pupa state is from three to four days.
If moist food is wanting when in this
condition they will eat each other
and thus decrease their number. Heat
and humidity greatly assist their Do
velopment, as upon careful computa-
ton each pound of manure around
dnvn1nne
der favorable conditions over 1000
flies. 1t is no wonder that where
these conditions exist we have such
verita5le harvest of the fly pest
In the pupa state when the fly is
about to emerge the end of the pupa
case splits off. making hole through
which the fly pushes a portion of its
head, but here it seems to encounter
a 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 filled with air: it acts as
means of pushing away the pupa case
and releases the fly. When the fly
first emerges it runs around with its
wings soft, small and baggy; it is
pale and the cOlOrs are not set: its
head rapidly expands and the bladder
formation passes away-witGin few
hours the wings grow and harden; it
is now perfect fly.
The whole time from the deposit
ing 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 flies that are impcrfectiy nour-
ished in the larvae and pupae states,
and do not attain full size; in fact,
they are the dwarfs Of their race. The
male fly differs from the female in
the front of the head between the
eyes. being at least one-third narrow
er, though in size the female is rath-
or smaller.
Adult flies like most other Great
ures have parasites OF minute size
that prey upon them; these can often
be seen as presenting small red
specks over the body Of the fly.
Another enemy in the form of a
fungus often attacks the fly in the
C:y,y autumn. This makes its ap-
l:3ar.ncc as white swelling and the
white spores of the disease can be
seen penetrating the body Of the fly,
which it finally distends and rup-
lures.
The fly hibernates in winter. but
with his usual secretive habit it is
very difficult to find him in his winter
quarters. With the first chill OF au-
tumn the flies, feeling the cold, seek
temporary warmth in houses. ara
clustering together form punches in
the corners Of walls and other places.
They are then sluggish and not SO ac-
tive as in the warm weather. How
ever, they Go not make permanent
stay indoors, bat on the first mild,
sunny day seek the windows to get
out and find their permanent winter
hiding place. Many prefer to make
their homes in the roots Of grass on
lawns, where they hide themselves SO
effectually that the ice and snow Of
winter does not destroy them in their
alternating state. II 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.
a close observer may see mum beTs 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 before
they appear in the homes OF men.
In recent years the medical profess
sion have demonstrated that while the
fly itself does not propagate disease,