The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-05-31
The Common House Fly.
4hence lie Comes and Whittier Ea
Goes.
BY HAROLD soMERs, N. A.


we habits that although from the
kaery earliest times he has been with
s and the most ancient writer's have
fentioned and described him, still
sify little was known of his origin
lPd history
4s1t remained for the eminent Bos-
IA biologist, DR.. A. S. Packard, in
S79, to make known his origin, hab-
and transformations from the egg
pugh the larva state with its two
nges> to the pupa state, then to
81 N perfect fly.
41AgNear the first of August the female
KS about 100 eggs of a dull gray
FOR, selecting fresh horse manure
a which to deposit her eggs, and so
Fecretes them that they are rarely
seen; it takes only twenty-four hours
or 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
;hanges 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.
III moist food is wanting when in this
Condition they will eat each other
8and thus decrease their number. Heat
and humidity greatly assist their de-
yelopment as upon careful computa-
fion each pound OF manure around
Etables and outhouses develops I'M
sler favorable conditions over 1000
gfies. II is no wonder that where
these conditions exist we have such a
4 Veritable harvest of the fly pest
ia In che pupa state when the fly is
n about to emerge the end of the pupa
case splitsoff making a hole through
which thefy pushes a portion Of its
a head, buthere it seems to encounter
4 q difficult; the pupa case is too
y stiff and ard to pass through. but
nature cores to its assistance, and
sort of BLADDER like substance forms
behind th head, which swells out
apparentlyf1lled with air; it acts as a
means of ushing away the pupa case
and releass the fly. When the fly
n first emergs it runs around with it's
wings soft small and baggy; it is
pale and he cOlors are not set; its
4 head rapidly expands and the bladder
formation asses away-within a few
hours the 7ings grow and harden; it
is now pcfect fly
ing of theegg to the perfect fly is
4 not over tn days i'll duration Many
persons mo observe small flies in
midsummr suppose they are the
young. Blu such is not the case; they
are flies hat are imperfectly nour-
ished in tie larvae and pupae states,
and do Mt attain full size; in fact,
they are e dwarfs of their race. The
male fly differs from the female in
the front Of the head between the
IA eyes, bein! at least one-third narrow
N er, thoughin size the female is rath-
err smaller
Adult fes like most other Great
ures have parasites of minute size
that prey pom them; these can often
be seen rs presenting small red
N specks owe the body of the fly.
Another enemy in the form of &
"a fungus often attacks the fly in the
/ early autumn. This makes its ap-
n pearance as white swelling and The
n 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
4 quarters. With the first chill of au-
tumn the flies, feeling the cold, seek
N temporary warmth in houses, and
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 do not make a permanent
stay indoors, but on the first mild,
sunny day seek the windows to get
Hut and find their permanent winter
Y 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 docs not destroy them in their
alternating state. If 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,
close observer may see numbers 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.