256 THE HOUSE FLY—DISEASE CARRIER 
known as the Scatophagidse, which, as the scientific 
name indicates, are attracted to and breed in the dung 
of different animals, and also to some extent in decay¬ 
ing vegetable material. They are, as a rule, rather 
light-colored, bristly flies. The species shown at Fig. 
33 is known as Scatophaga furcata Say. It is a North 
American species of rather wide distribution, which 
in its early stages lives in all sorts of excreta and is 
once in a great while found in houses. It does not 
hibernate as an adult fly, but in its puparia in dung. 
The Moth Flies (Psychodci minuta Banks) 
There are certain very minute flies belonging to a 
family known as the Psychodidse, which are very pe¬ 
culiar from the fact that they resemble little moths, 
their broad wings being covered with hairs, making 
them look like moths. They are very weak fliers, and 
are frequently found upon windows and on the under 
surfaces of leaves. They are so small and fragile that 
they are difficult to capture and preserve. What they 
do in houses no one knows, unless possibly they enter 
them for protection. The larvae of some species breed 
in excreta; others in decaying vegetation, and still 
others in water, sewage-polluted water being preferred. 
Psychoda minuta Banks has been reared from cow 
dung at Washington. None of the North American 
species has the blood-sucking habit, although a genus 
(Phloebotomus) which occurs in Southern Europe and 
in other parts of the world bites human beings and 
has been accused of disease-carrying probabilities. 
