552 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



fed on banana and a mixture of bread, casein, and sugar moistened with 

 water. No moults were seen. The higher the temperature the quicker 

 the development, but 38° C. appears to be the limit. The period 

 between egg-laying and the emergence of flies varies from 9 to 25 days. 

 The eggs hatch the day after they are laid ; pupation occurs in 6-16 days. 



Baits and Poisons for Flies.* — Olive C. Lodge concludes from 

 numerous experiments that for Blow-flies, meaty substances make the 

 best baits, especially blown liver. The digestive action of the maggots 

 increases the attractiveness of the baits. For House-flies the most 

 satisfactory baits consisted of mixture of casein, banana, and some sweet 

 substance like treacle, to which sufficient water, beer, or stout is added 

 to make paste. Formalin seems to remain the best poison for indoor 

 use, in spite of its somewhat uncertain action. The best results were 

 got with 2 '5-7 "5 p.c. pure formalin. The proportion of the sexes, it 

 is noted, is nearly equal in House-flies. 



Flies and Manure.! — Winifred H. Saunders has found after many 

 experiments two very successful methods of treating stable manure so 

 as to secure the destruction of flies. The first is the surface-dressing 

 of the manure with green tar oil or with neutral blast-furnace oil and 

 soil. The second is the application of tetrachlorethane. Both treat- 

 ments successfully kill the maggots and are harmless to plants. The 

 tar oil has a permanent effect in being resistant to rain, while the effect 

 of the tetrachlorethane lasts only while the liquid vaporizes. 



Destruction of Flies. | — Winifred H. Saunders finds that flybane is 

 effective in killing flies by contact, but does not act as a repellent ; that 

 exol brings flies down, but about 50 p.c. recover ; that "Army Spray" 

 successfully kills by contact, but is not a deterrent ; that Berlese's 

 flykiller (treacle, arsenic, and water) was not a success in Britain ; that 

 fly-papers were very successful ; that of traps the common balloon is 

 best. The trap should be baited with casein and sugar in equal parts 

 (Mapweb bait), moistened with beer, stout, or banana. To keep rooms 

 free from flies the most practicable procedure is to spray daily with 

 Professor Lefroy's New Army Spray (harmless to food and having a 

 pleasant scent), and to set fly-papers and traps. 



Study of Tychius 5-punctatus.§ — G. Grandi gives an account of 

 the adult, ova, and full-grown larva of this Curculionid beetle. The 

 straw-white, ellipsoidal eggs, with very delicate chorion, are laid in 

 beans and vetches. The external features of the full-grown larva are 

 dealt with, including the chaetotaxis. The adults eat the leaves and 

 young seeds ; the eggs are laid in the seeds ; the larvae bore in the 

 seeds. Practical preventives are discussed. 



* Proc.Zool. Soc. London, 1916, pp. 481-518. 



t Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1916, pp. 469-79. 



I Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1916, pp. 465-8. 



§ Boll. Lab. Zool. Scuola Agric. Portici, x. (1916) pp. 103-19 (6 figs.). 



