THE BOT FLY. 



77 



We now come to the Bot flies, vvliicli are amonc^ the most 



extraordinary, in their habits, of all insects. The history of the 



Botflies is in brief thus. The adult two-winged fly lays its eggs 



on the exterior of the animal to be infested. They are conveyed 



into the interior of the host, where they liatch, and the worm or 



maggot lives by sucking in the purulent 



matter, caused by the irritation set up by 



its presence in its host ; or else the worm 



itself, after hatching, bores under the skin. 



When fully grown, it quits the body and 



finishes its transformations to the fly-state 



under ground. Many quadrupeds, from 



mice, squirrels, and rabbits, up to the ox, 



horse, and even the rhinoceros, suffer from 



their attacks, while man himself is not 



exempt. The body of the adult fly is sto'it 



and hairy, and it is easily recognized by 



having the opening of the mouth very smalh 



the mouth-parts being very rudl*nentary. 



The larvai are, in general, thick, fleshy. 



footless grubs, consisting of eleven seg- 

 ments, exclusive of the head, which are covered with rows of 



spines and tubercles, by which they move about within the body> 



thus irritating the animals 

 in which they take up their 

 abode. The breathing pores 

 (stigmata) open in a scaly 

 plate at the posterior end 

 of the body. The mouth- 

 parts (mandibles, etc.) of 

 the subcutaneous larviie con- 

 sist of fleshy tubercles, while 

 in those species which live 

 in the stomachs and frontal 

 sinuses of their host, they 

 are armed with horny hooks. 

 The larvae ai.tain their full 

 size after moulting twice. 



79. Truman Bot Worm. 



80. Horse Bot Fly. 



Just before assuming the pupa state, the maggot leaves its pecu- 

 liar dwelling place, descends into the ground and there becomes 

 a pupa, though retaining its larval skin, which serves as a pro- 

 tection to it, whence it is called a "puparium." 



