. Annual report. Entomological Society of Ontario; Insect pests; Insects. 34. but in colour are a reddish brown. The perfect fly bursts from the pupa-case in six or seven days. Seen under the microscope it is a remarkable and beautiful object. Its eyes are compound, each presenting four thousand facets. Its wings are beautifully hyaline, flashing in the light rich tints of purple and crimson. The labium, or tongue, terminates in a sucking disk, divided into two leaves, which are ribbed underneath like a rasp (Fig. 18). It is the friction of these ribs which leaves the sensation of a bite upon
. Annual report. Entomological Society of Ontario; Insect pests; Insects. 34. but in colour are a reddish brown. The perfect fly bursts from the pupa-case in six or seven days. Seen under the microscope it is a remarkable and beautiful object. Its eyes are compound, each presenting four thousand facets. Its wings are beautifully hyaline, flashing in the light rich tints of purple and crimson. The labium, or tongue, terminates in a sucking disk, divided into two leaves, which are ribbed underneath like a rasp (Fig. 18). It is the friction of these ribs which leaves the sensation of a bite upon the skin, when the insect has tried its powers upon us. Insects belonging to the genus Musca are very prolific. Leeuwenhock calculated that in three months, the natural and unchecked increase from one pair of flies would be 700,000. Yast numbers of the maggots of the house-fly are eaten by domestic poultry, and vast numbers of the perfect insects by hornets and wasps. The fly, moreover, is subject to a strange disease, in which the abdomen becomes distended and a fluffy substance appears in the joints. The fungus is Sporendonema muscoe,. It spreads through the system, saps the life and the fly succumbs. Much may be done to keep down the numbers of the house-fly. The horse-barn should be placed at a distance from the dwelling house. The manure pile should be frequently turned, and the poultry allowed free access to it. The house should be supplied with doors and blinds of gauze-wire or netting, which will admit light and air, so necessary to the health of the inmates, and shut out flies and other intruders. Care should be taken to destroy every fly that shows itself in the winter—hibernating insects will start fresh colonies in the spring. A simple and very effective fly-trap may be made thus:—Fill a tumbler to within an inch of the top with strong soap-suds. Take a slice of bread, cut in the centre of it a hole about an inch in diameter; moisten the under surface; spread it
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectinsects, bookyear1872
