The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-04-01
FLY TIME ALL THE TIME
COMMENCE NOW TO SWAT THIS
WORST OF ALL PESTS-THE
HOUSE FLY.
What Frederic j. Haslins, of WASH
ington, ID. c., Says Concerning
This Disease Spreading "Animal."

United States Bureau of Entom-
ology, last week, emphasizing the
now" A fly crusade started in July
will have little lasting effect. Every
fly killed now is equivalent to killing
millions of them in the middle of the
Summer. The fly crusades through
out the country last Summer accom-
plished a great deal in the way of
temporary relief. This year the work
should begin earlier and last longer.
The Spring house cleaning should
include a vigorous anti-fly crusade
which should extend to any places
outside the house where flies are like
ly to breed. A mature fly of April
may be the ancestor of over six bill
lions by the first of September, ac-
cording to a careful scientific calcu-
lation. The young flies killed in April
have had few offspring and that is
the time when they should be ami
hilated. The killing of all the Win
ter flies would do away with the
great work required in the Summer"
A number of towns already have
commenced the work of destroying
the Winter flies. Cleveland expects
to be almost flyless city this Sum-
mer, as result of the vigorous work
which has been in progress this past
three months. The Normal school
of the city acted as a committee to
count flies collected by the boys.
Money has been raised to pay for the
Winter flies collected, at the rate of
ten cents per hundred. Over three
hundred thousand have been paid
for at this rate and the crusade is
still on. After next month the price
will be lowered to ten cents per
thousand although the boys are firm
in their belief that this is unfair, as
the number of old flies already col
lected will make it even more diff
cult to procure them, even as the
warm weather approaches and the
natural increase is to be expected.
House Fly Can't Bite.
A number of different species of
flies apparently are found around the
house, although only one of these is
the house fly proper. Scientifically
this is known as the musca domes-
tica. 1t is medium sized and grayish
in color with it's mouth part spread
out at the tip for sucking up liquids.
The house fly cannot bite because it's
mouth is not formed that way, al
though most people believe that it
does. The fly that does the biting is
really the stable fly or stomoXys cal
citrans, which resembles the house
fly so closely that only an entomolo-
gist is likely to discover the differ
ence. 1t is frequently found in the
house and differs from the house fly
chiefly in having mouth which can
pierce the skin in a sharp, stinging
little bite which sometimes arouses
Summer slumberer from pleasant
nap.
Another species of fly frequently
found in the house is the cluster fly
or pollenis rudis, which is especially
numerous in the Spring and Fall.
The cluster fly is larger than the av-
erage house fly. Its abdomen is
smooth and dark colored and the fly
has a sprinkling of yellow hairs. 1t
is apt to be sluggish in it's move
ment, especially in the Fall, and
therefore, can be picked up readily.
1t is subject to a fungous disease
which causes it to die upon window
panes surrounded with white ef-
florescence. Sometimes this fly be-
comes so numerous in house as to
become a pest, but such cases are not
frequent.
Another stable fly, almost exactly
Ike the house fly in appearance, does
not bite as does the stomoxys calci-
trans. 1t breeds upon decaying
vegetation and manure and is an ac-
tive agent in the distribution of filth
and germs. Several varieties of
greenish or blush flies having a me-
tallic lustre also are to be found
about the house. The most numer-
Gus is the blue bottle fly, which also
is called the blow fly or meat fly, be-
cause it breeds in decaying animal
material. There are several smaller
species of house flies, and a fruit fly
which frequently is found to be at
. tracted by the odor of over-ripe fruit.
Each of these is capable of carrying
thousands of disease germs, aside
from the annoyance their own pres
ence causes. All these different
species together, however, are small
in numbers in comparison with the
4 common house fly. Out of collec-
! tions of flies found in dining rooms
in different parts of the country over
4 ninety per cent. of the whole num-
ber captured were the musca do
s. mestica, or common house fly.
Stables Are Breeding Places.
The favorite breeding place of the
musca domestica is the horse stable
although, failing that, garbage cans
slops or any collection of ferment-
ling vegetables matter will suffice
ut seems to take the eggs longer to
mature in some localities than 9th.
ers. A scientist experimenting in
Massachusetts, reared a generation
i in fourteen days. The duration OF
the egg state was twenty-four hours
the larval state from five to seven
days, and the pupal state about the
same period. An experiment made
in Washington last year, in midsum.
mer, indicated that the female lays
. ht one time about 120 eggs which
hatch in eight hours. The larval
period with these eggs lasted less
than five days and the pupal five
1ays, making the total time for the
! development of a generation OF
- young flies about ten days.
The greatest preventive measure