Vol. xxiv] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 303 



anal extremity of the wing. The ground-color of the wings in this 

 sex is prevalently brownish, with a faint shimmer of blue toward the 

 base and inner margins of both the primaries and secondaries. The 

 dark bands on the outer margin of the wings on the upper side are 

 broader and more diffuse than in the male. The maculation of the 

 under side of the wings is like that in the male sex, but the markings 

 are broader and more diffuse. 



Types, male and female, in the collection of the Carnegie 

 Museum. 



How does the House-fly pass the Winter? (Dipt.). 



By HENRY SKINNER. 



I have never been convinced that in the locality of Phila- 

 delphia the house-fly lives through the winter in the imago 

 condition. I have seen belated individuals in our homes and 

 other buildings, but never concluded that any of them sur- 

 vived the winter and oviposited in the spring. 



Howard says, "The adult flies undoubtedly remain dormant 

 even in warmed dwellings, and it is altogether likely that 

 some of them remain dormant throughout the winter months 

 in sheltered but cold situations. Many adult insects pass the 

 winter in this way, and observations have been made which 

 indicate that this is the case with the house-fly, although as 

 a matter of fact sufficient attention has not been paid in the 

 observations on record of the exact specific identity of the 

 flies in question." He quotes the observations of Jepson, 

 made in Cambridge, England, who observed them for some 

 time, finding them in the same positions and still living a 

 month later. "His observations ceased at the end of Janu- 

 ary, but he saw no reason why they should not live on until 

 spring and then begin to breed." Jepson's observations are 

 inferential and inconclusive in so far as our question is con- 

 cerned, as it is not shown that any specimens actually sur- 

 vived to breed in the spring. 



Hewitt says, "With the approach of the cold weather sea- 

 son in October and November the flies seem to disappear and 

 in all but the warmest places, such as kitchens, restaurants and 

 stables, and even in these places their numbers are decreased. 



