Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-07-28
THE ELY 4 MENACE
TO PUBLIC HEALTH
Facts Regarding His Family
Tree and His Domestic
Habits.

A. scientist would call the housefiy
it belongs to the genus Musca. of the
order Diptera (two-wing f1ies). The l.
In its name refers to the fact that II
was named by Linnaeus.
M. Domestica's superfamily is Mus
coidea, and to this same family belong
so many flies that closely resemble the
real housefy hat persons camping In
the wilds have reported finding house
flies swarming there. What they really
found were flies of the same super
family. and closely resembling IN. Do
mestica." The real housef1y is found
in civilization only. However, many of
germs. n may be regarded with sus-
picion, as they also live on carrion
and rubbish.
Even in the family Muscidae there
are many genera Of similar habits n
appearance, though not really house,
files. DR.. L. o. Howard once pinned
twenty different species to a tray and
asked chance visitors for several weeks
to pick out the true house1ies from
them. No one was ever able to
distinguish between the different cous-
ms Of M. Domestica and that fly itself
by merely. looking at them.
It may be distinguished from nearly
all flies that resemble it by examining
1t through the microscope, when the
house fly will be found to nave no
bristles on the sides Of the thorax above
the attachment of the last pair Of legs,
and to have the vein that ends near the
tip Of the wing distinctly elbowed a
short distance above its apex."-(From
Towards 1.-THE House Fly-Disease
Carrier" Copyright, 1911, by Stokes.)
The FIy's BODY.
Almost all of the 1y's body is bristly
and capable Of carrying dangerous
germs from putrescent substances; but
the mouth parts and the feet are es-
pecially well adapted for this purpose.
Besides its claws, each of the f1y's six
feet is supplied with two sticky pads,
covered, on their walking surfaces, with
hairs which secrete q sticky fluid. These
pads both enable the fly to walk on the
window pane and enable 1t to carry
germs.
Most of the parts of the fly's mouth
form a proboscis, an infinitely tiny ele-
plants trunk. When the fly feeds on
fluid substances 1t sucks up the fluid
with all the accompanying particles Of
filth. But when eating a dried sub
stance, 1t has to put out quantities Of
saliva from its mouth, soften the. sur
face Of the dry matter, then suck it in.
1t is thus that the fly sucks up t%ubercu-
lar germs from dried sputum.
Storing Up Food.
Besides a true stomach, the fly has a
This stores up food which later
passes through a chyle stomach into
the stomach for digesting. This saves
the fly when it is shut up in a vacant
room. For the crop may remain full,
after a single feeding. for as long as
four days, hui acting as a storage
reservoir.
The best-known thing regarding the
structure of the fly is it's marvellous
eyes-each of which is really a cluster
of countless small eyes. Thus grouped,
the fy's eyes are turned in every d.
rection, so that there is no creeping
upon him by stealth. They are, also,
microscopic.
In every way, the fly is capacitated to
6SCdQ6 lIDI CACihiiCS Will Ia paws
or sticks. 1t can live on any sort Of
unregarded filth; live and breed and
feed there. Finally, with bristles and
stomach, feet>and mouth, 1t Is magnif-
Gently provided for the gathering and
carriage of disease germs.
A Brilliant Enemy.
The further one studies the fly, the
more n sees how capable an enemy
he is to mankind; an enemy armed with
the germs of typhoid, childrens' diar-
rhea, consumption, dysentery, and ar
mored with swift fight and swift Wis
ion. The close study of the fly is fasci-
mating. The microscope, or magnified
pictures Of the fly, reveal a structure
which is most exquisitely adapted for
the Garage of disease germs. The more
interested in him the student gets. the
more he sect that the fly is not an
amusing little creature, to be careless
ly brushed aside, or cheerfully cursed
when he Is a summertime nuisance, but
actually a most serious n brilliant
enemy of all mankind.