The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1910-06-25
Life History and Habits OF the Fly

THERE are several species of flies which
/ arc commonly found In houses nl-
though but one Of these should be
called the house ny proper This Is musca
| domestica, which Is medium sized gray
i*h fly, with its mouth parts spread out at
the Tip for sucking up liquid substances 1t
breeds In manure and dooryard filth and is
found in nearly ali parts of tho world on
account oil the conformation OF It's mouth
Lorts the house ny cannot bite vet no i'm
preston is stronger In the minds of most
people than that this insect does occasionally
pilc. ms Impression IS due to the frequent
occurrence in houses OF another ny called
The stable fly and which, while closely re-
Semelins the house lily $50 closely I'm fact
as 10 deceive any one but an cntomologist)
uliters from it In the Important particular
that Its mouth parts Termed for piercing
Inc SKIN 1t Is perhaps second In point OF
abundance 20 The house hy I'm most portious
OF the states
several species OF metallic greenish or
oiuish files nrc also occasionally found I'm
houses. The most abundant OF which Is tbc
so-called blue-b bottle ny This insect is also
called tho blowly or mcat-ny. and breeds
In dccaying animal material
In the autumn. when fruit appears on
inc sldeboaTd. many specimens OF a small
trult-iiy make their appearance attracted by
the odor of ovcrripe fruit
M VI olcsc species. however, are greatly
dwaried In numbers by the common house
fly. In 1900 the writer made collections of
tho ilieS in dining rooms in different pnrts
OF the country and out OF total of % os7
nles 2z.S0S were tho common house fy-that
is aS.S per cent OF the whole number can
tured' The remainder, consisting of l. nor
cent OF the whole comprised various species
including those mentioned above
The true house fly commonly laws ,tV
horse
seems TO be tts favorite laryal food II VIII
ovlposit on cow manure. but we have NOT
been able TO rear 1t In this substance Il
VIII also breed in human cxcrement and
from this habit IL becomes very dangerous
to the health OF human beings carving 1s
1t does, the germs OF intestinal diseases sucb
as typhoid fever and cholera from excrcta To
food supplies 1t win also lay It's eggs upon
other decaYing vegetable and animal ma
terlal, but of the 1ics that nfcst dwelling
houses, both in cities and on farms vast
proportion comes from horse manure
The Washington observations indicate that
the larvae molt twice md that there are
thus three distinct 1arval stages
The periods OF development were found
10 be about as follows: Egg from deposit
ton to hatching onc-third Of a day; hatch
ing OF larVa TO first molt one day first to
second molt, ono day; second molt TO pupa-
ton. three days; pupaton to issuing OF the
adult nEe DAYS total llc round, approXi-
mately ten days. There Is thus abundance
Of time for the development of twelve or
thirteen generations in the climate of Wash
ngton every summer
The number Of eggs laid by an individual
ly is undoubtedly large. averaging about
100 and the enormous numbers In which the
Insects occur is thus plainly accounted for
specially when consider the abundance
md universal occurrence of appropriate lar
al food
A careful screening OF windows and doors
Turing the summer months. with the sup
Elementary use OF sticky fly papers, is a pre-
'entivc measure against house flies known