. The Cambridge natural history. Zoology. HIPPOBOSCIDAE S19 Hippoboscidae live on birds, and are apparently specially fond of the Swallow tribe. They are all winged, though in some species the wings are very small. The bird- infesting Hippoboscidae have been very little studied, and will probably form a distinct family; the antennae of Sten- opteryx Tiirundijiis are quite different from those of Hippobosca. The devel- opment is remarkable, and has been studied by Leuckart ^ and by Pratt ^ in the case of Melophagus ovinus. The ovaries are peculiarly formed, and pro- duce one large egg at a time
. The Cambridge natural history. Zoology. HIPPOBOSCIDAE S19 Hippoboscidae live on birds, and are apparently specially fond of the Swallow tribe. They are all winged, though in some species the wings are very small. The bird- infesting Hippoboscidae have been very little studied, and will probably form a distinct family; the antennae of Sten- opteryx Tiirundijiis are quite different from those of Hippobosca. The devel- opment is remarkable, and has been studied by Leuckart ^ and by Pratt ^ in the case of Melophagus ovinus. The ovaries are peculiarly formed, and pro- duce one large egg at a time; this passes into the dilated o-\dduct, and there goes through its full growth and a cer- tain amount of development; it is then. extruded, and undergoing little or no change of form becomes externally hardened by the excretion of chitin, passing thus into the condition of the Eumyiid pupa. -Dufour thought that there is no larval stage in this Insect, but it is quite clear from later researches that he was wrong, and that a larval stage of a peculiar kind, but in some re- spects resembling that of the Eumyiid Muscidae, occurs. The larva has no true head, but the anterior part of the body is invaginated, and the most anterior part again protrudes in the invagination, so that two little passages appear on section (Fig. 246); the upper one leads to the stomach, which is of very large size. The tracheal system is peculiar; it is metapneustic, there being neither anterior nor lateral spiracles. Pratt says that there is at first a single pair of terminal spiracles, and sub- sequently three pairs, hence he considers that the terminal part of the body corresponds to three segments. This is however probably a mistaken view; it appears more probable that the so- called three pairs of stigmata really correspond with the complex ' Jbh. Ges. Halle, iv. 1858, p. 145. ^ ^^^;j_ Naturgesch. lix. i. 1893, p. 151. Fig. 246.—Diagrammatic section of the larva of Melophagus cminus. (After Pratt.)
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1895
