The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1924-12-02
25O,OOO FLIES KEPT
FOR EXPERTS STUDY
MANY REMARKABLE SPECI-
MEMS IN COLLECTION OF
u. S. GOVERNMENT.

WASHINGTON, d. C-Among
the remarkable possessions of the
United States government may be list
ed a collection of more than a quarter
OF million flies.
These flies are kept in the National
Museum, but they are never displayed
for the amusement and edihcation OF
the general public Occasionally a
scientist who has captured strange
fly comes to identity it, or reporter
inquiries for the insect expert and is
directed to the museum Office.
Passing down long corridors flanked
bv business-like doors and steel filing
cabinets marked skulls" the caller
comes to the office OF DR.. T. M. Al
drich. Here, in a comparatively small
room. are several desks and maze
OF tall cabinets. And in these cabinets,
neatly assorted in drawers, are stored
away more than 100000 flies.
Visitors who are non-scientists like
to guess how many varieties OF fly
such a collection might contain, and
most of them find their knowledge Of
flies petering out rapidly after they
have thought OF the house fly, stable
Av. and horse fly. But that is only
naming three general classes. DIR. Al
drich says that flies make up one Of
the largest orders OF insects. There
are about $4,000 known species OF
flies, including mosquitoes, which
structurally belong to the family.
North America alone has 10000 nam
ed varieties, and collectors still find a
good many specimens that have never
been described or classified.
Some Two Inches Long.
The governments collection, which
contains about II goo species, is there
fore far from being complete. 1t in
cludes, however, many strange and
interesting specimens from the far
corners OF the world and from our
city streets and country roads as well.
About 1900 different species have been
collected in and around Washington,
and similar number OF varieties
would be available within 5O-mfle
area in most sections of this country,
although not in all.
Some OF the flies carefully preserv-
ed in the government collection are
so tiny that half a dozen OF them
could perch comfortably on the head
of a common min. A flea beside one
of these pigmy flies would overshadow
it. No screen could keep it out. And
thew are adult flies, it must be remem-
bered. Once a hy's wings have spread
and dried the insect has attained Its
full growth
AT the opposite end OF the scale in
size are specimens that look like
house flies grown to gigantic proper
tons. The largest of these from the
tropics are two inches long. They
have no common name.
MANY of the members of the fly
clan display almost no family resem-
blance to the common fly that we
swat so industriously every summer.
A number of drawers in the cabinets
are filled with neat rows OF what are
sometimes called bee flies. Their
bodies are brown and velvety, and
they have gauzy wings When they
hover about flowers, sucking nectar
with their long bills, they look so
much like bees that any human being
or even an insect might be fooled.
May Be Just Trick.
Why these flies that like to drink
nectar from the flowers should have
disguised themselves SO adroitly to
resemble bees is a puzzle to science.
1t is thought possible that they de-
veloped a bee-like appearance as a
protective device Bees have sharp
stings, and certain birds and insects
that boldly prey on flies know better
than to go bee hunting. So it may
be, some OF the clever flies have imi-
tated the appearance OF a. well-armed
insect, even though they lack the
weapon that makes the bee feared and
respected.
Other groups of flies resemble
wasps, possibly for the same reason
OF protection They have long hind
legs and long sharp wings. Others
are like big, velvety humble bees.
The flower flies do not make nests
Ike the bees they initiate, but some
of them have no objection to using
the nests built by buster insects. The