412- INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



Sarcophaga Georgina of Wiedemann. It appears towards the 

 end of June, and continues till the middle of August, or perhaps 

 later. Its face is silvery white, and there is an oblong square 

 black spot between the eyes, which are copper-colored. The 

 thorax is light gray, with seven black stripes upon it. The hind- 

 body is nearly conical, has the lustre of satin, and is checkered 

 with square spots of black and white, shifting or interchanging 

 their colors according to the light wherein they are seen. The 

 legs are black, and the hindmost pair are very hairy in the males. 

 The female is about half an inch long ; the male is rather smaller. 

 In the Sarcophagans, or flesh-eaters, as the name implies, the 

 bristles on the antennas are feathered. 



The flies that abound in stables in August and September, and 

 sometimes enter houses on the approach of rain, might be mis- 

 taken for house-flies, were it not for the severity of their bites, 

 which are often felt through our clothing, and are generally fol- 

 lowed by blood. Upon examination they will be found to differ 

 essentially from house-flies in their proboscis, which is very long 

 and slender, and projects horizontally beyond the head. The 

 bristles on their antenna? are feathered above. Cattle suffer sore- 

 ly from the piercing bites of these flies, and horses are sometimes 

 so much tormented and enraged by them as to become entirely 

 ungovernable in harness. The name of this kind of fly is Sto- 

 moxys calcitrans; the first word signifying sharp-mouthed, and 

 the second kicking, given to the fly from the effect it produces on 

 horses. It lays its eggs in dung, where its young are hatched, 

 and pass through their transformations. The larva? and pupae do 

 not differ much in appearance from those of common house-flies. 



The next three flies have feathered bristles on their antennae. 

 The first of them, a large, buzzing, and stinking meat-fly, named 

 JWusca (Calliphora.) vomitoria, is of a blue-black color, with a 

 broad, dark blue, and hairy hind-body. It is found all summer 

 about slaughter-houses, butchers' stalls, and pantries, which it 

 frequents for the purpose of laying its eggs on meat. The eggs 

 are commonly called fly-blows ; they hatch in two or three hours 

 after they are laid, and the maggots produced from them come to 

 their growth in three or four days,' after which they creep away 

 into some dark crevice, or burrow in the ground, if they can get 



