129 



Fig. 142. House fly. 

 Puparium at left; adult next; larva and enlarged -parts at right. 



Enlarged. (From U. >'. Dtpt. Agric.) 



The house fly breed in manure and decaying organic 



matter. Its life-cycle occupies a very short time and the 

 females deposit a large number of eggs, thus providing for 

 very rapid increase in numbers. House flies visit the most 

 repulsive and unclean situations and, if opportunity offers, 

 they go from these places directly into houses, mess tents, etc., 

 where they walk about over food stuff's, contaminating them 

 with any disease germs or filth which may have adhered 

 to the hairs of their legs and bodies. The house fiv is dis- 

 tinctly a creature of filth and uncleanliness. and the first 

 step toward ridding a house or locality of these undesirable 

 visitors is to remove the material and the conditions which 

 provide them with breeding places. 



Under estate conditions and in stables, manure mav be 

 treated with gypsum or air-slaked lime and thus be ren- 

 dered unsuitable as a breeding place for flies. 



BETE ROUGE (Trombidium sp. ). Acarina. 



This small mite occurs in some of the West Indian 

 Islands in such abundance as to cause it to be considered 

 a pest. There is a great difference, however, in the degree 

 of susceptibility to attack, some persons being frequentlv 

 and seriouslv annoved by these small creatures, while others 

 will very rarely notice them. The bete rouge is known 

 as the harvest bug, and in some localities is called a cbigger. 



