Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-04-20

lallOr who was so proud II A
OF his success of killing /EZ
seven flies, all AT one = A
1ell swOOp, that he k
made for himself Il belt #
with the words upon IL ~
Seven at one blow?" ~
This was long before
the days of "Swat-the-fly" campaigns.
SO after all, the little tailor did a
greater thing than he realized.
III was not SO very long ago that
the common house fly was held up rs
pattern of harmlcssness-henc
the phrase, "He wouldn't hurt a fly"
Now all this has been changed.
Health officers everywhere are doing
everything possible to make every
one realize it is his imperative duty
TO Kill every fly that comes within
his reach. A war of determination
has been declared against the house
hy. This summer greater forces than
ever are being prepared to storm the
trenches Of the common enemy of man.
kind, and rout him forever. 1t is real
lied that II is within the power of
the house fly, apparently such feeble
creature, 10 slay more human beings
than can the most modern artillery of
the heaviest caliber!
Year by year the war on the house
fly is gaining i'm strength. 1t started
only few years ago, when the vital
ly important matter of the dangers of
what Ecclesiastes refers to as "the fly
in the. ointment" was made plain.
Pro-. l.. o. Howard, chief of the
bureau of entomology. United States
department of agriculture, has made
an extensive study of flies. The re-
suits Of Professor Howards fnvesti-
cations are given in a recently issued
government bulletin. which contains
much valuable information that will
enable communities to wage effective
warfare on. flies.
- eath-Be1kins House Fly.
"There are several species of flies
which are commonly found in
houses says Professor Howard, cal
though but one of these would prop
'erly, be- called the house fly. This
fly, wht@ is found in nearly all parts
Of the world. is a medium-sized gray
Ssh fiy, .v3th its mouth parts spread
cut at the tip for sucking up
:lfQpid substances. On account of
this conformation of its mouth parts
the house fly cannot bite, yet no i'm
preston is stronger in the minds of
some people than that this insect does
bite.
"The house fly lays its eggs upon
all kinds Of filth. The number of
eggs laid by an individual fly at one
time is undoubtedly large. probably
averaging about 12O. and single
female will lay at least two and pos
sibly four such patches. Under the
most favorable conditions of tempera-
tnre and moisture the egg state may
last hardly more than eight hours. The
maggots which issue from the eggs
are very small and transparent. They
grow rapidly.
..As the larvae attain full size they
gradually assume a creamy white
color. Just before pupatiOn they be-
come very restless and migrate from
their feeding ground in search of
a favorable place in which to pass
the pupal stage. They will often con-
gregate at the edges of piles of filth
near the ground or burrOw into the
soil beneath. or they crawl consider
able distances away TO pupate in the
ground or In loose material under the
edges of stones, boards, ETC.. The
..pupae ,or -.sleepers,' are more or less
barrel-shaped and dark brown in
color. In midsummer this stage lasts
from three 10 ten days. four to five
days being the usual duration.
How Fly Spreads Disease.
"The adult fly. upon emerging
from the puparium, works its way
upward through the soil or filth and
upon reaching the air it crawls
about while IT'S wings expand and
the body hardens and assumes its
normal coloratlOn. In very few days
the female-is ready TO deposit eggs.
"The body of the house fly is
thickly covered with hairs and bris-
ties of varying lengths, and this is