. The diseases and disorders of the ox, with some account of the diseases of the sheep. 432 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. herds. We propose to deal with this creature and the gad-fly first, and then we shall proceed to consider other parasites. The picture below is taken, with apologies to Miss Ormerod, from her article above referred to. The bot-fly or warble-fly of the ox {Hypodertna bovis) is about half-an-inch in length, and the general appearance is not unlike that of the bumble-bee. The annual pecuniary loss occasioned by this insect and by the gad-fly of the ox is very great. On
. The diseases and disorders of the ox, with some account of the diseases of the sheep. 432 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. herds. We propose to deal with this creature and the gad-fly first, and then we shall proceed to consider other parasites. The picture below is taken, with apologies to Miss Ormerod, from her article above referred to. The bot-fly or warble-fly of the ox {Hypodertna bovis) is about half-an-inch in length, and the general appearance is not unlike that of the bumble-bee. The annual pecuniary loss occasioned by this insect and by the gad-fly of the ox is very great. One of these insects on a hot summer's day is capable of upsetting a whole herd, and it is just possible that they may be the means of transruitting blood dis- eases, as well as of bringing about other well-known damage. About the year 1825, these creatures appeared in large numbers. Fig. .54.—The Warhle-fly of the Ox. and its Lakva. in France, causing considerable mischief, fever, and death. They are very generally present in cattle imported from America and other warm countries, and hence any preventive measures should certainly include the destruction of the larvse in oxen brought from abroad, so far as might be found practicable. It is in the latter days of May, in June, July, and also in the beginning of August, that the female warble-fly of the ox is busily engaged in laying its eggs on the backs of horned cattle. The oxen are terrified, and, in order to escape their tormentors, will dash madly into the iliickest fences. If the ploughman be engaged in ploughing with oxen when the warble-fly and gad-fly are on the war-trail, he will lose all control over his team; and hence on hot and sullry days the ploughing iiiis to be de- ferred until the cool of the evening, when these insects are not on tiie wing. Having deposited its k}^q or eggs, the warble-fly returns to the hedgerows or woods, in order to procure a supply. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned
Size: 1915px × 1305px
Photo credit: © Paul Fearn / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1889
