416 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



LUCILIA SERICATA MEIGEN ATTACKING A LIVE 



CALF.* 



BY H. F. HUDSON, B.S.A., ENTOMOLOGICAL BRANCH, OTTAWA. 



While walking through a pasture field at Strathroy, Ont., on 



July 1st, my attention was directed to a well-bred herd of young 



Holstein rattle. There were among them twelve calves from five 



to six weeks old. On looking them over, I noticed that one of the 



calves had a sickly appearance and was extremely thin. This calf 



appeared to be suffering from an acute attack of white scours, and 



all known remedies seemed to be useless. It was becoming weaker 



cltl 01 gh still able to run around, and was very keen for its milk. 

 On July <th, when I saw the calf again, I was surprised to find the 

 hnJ extremities, especially around the base of the tail, a mass of 

 maggots. A closer examination showed that the maggots were 

 mcst abundant around the anus and base of the tail where some of 

 them had eaten into the flesh to the depth of about a quarter of 

 an inch. No adult flies were observed though a watch was kept 

 for seme time. Learning the calf's condition, the owner killed it 

 in - mediately and a piece of the infested flesh was brought to the 

 laboratory. On July 12th the larvae appeared to be thriving, 

 I ut as other work compelled an absence of about a fortnight from 

 the labcratory at Strathroy, most of the larvae died through want 

 of food during this absence. Two larvae pupated on August 5th, 

 and on August 19th two adults of Lucilia sericata Meigen emerged. 

 The specimens were dwarfed owing to the larvae having suffered 

 from lack of nutrition. 



The adult flies had no doubt been attracted by the filthy hind 

 quarters of the sickly calf and had oviposited there. Dr. C. Gordon 

 Hewitt, to whom the specimens were submitted, states that L. 

 sericata is the chief fly which produces the maggots on the backs 

 and hind quarters of sheep in Great Britain, as MacDougall has 

 shown. Such a case of myiasis occurring in cattle, however, is 

 very unusual. 



"■Contributions from the Entomological Branch, Department of Agriculture, 

 Ottawa. 



December, 1914 



