5^4 



HOWARD 



Callifhora erythroce^hala Meigen. 



This is another widespread species common to Europe and 

 North America. It is a large bluebottle fly of rather dull color, 



with black spines on 

 the thorax. It is the 

 common ' blow-fly ' of 

 Europe and is the spe- 

 cies treated by Lowne 

 in his classic ' Anat- 

 omy of the Blow-fly.' 

 Its larva; are said by 

 Porchinsky to be struc- 

 turally indistinguisha- 

 ble from those of Lu- 

 cilia ccesar except in 

 size. The fly lays its 

 eggs on meat and dead 

 animals. It has never 

 been reared by us, al- 

 FiG. 19. Calliphora eryihrocephala — enlarged thou^'h Rilev records it 



(original). • 1 ^ -r* c ^ 



m the nrst Report of the 



United States Entomological Commission as destroying the 

 Rocky Mountain locust or Western grasshopper. In our in- 

 vestigations it was captured upon fresh human fceces, 24 

 hours old, May 13, May 16 and June 6, 1899. This fly is 

 occasionally seen in houses, but such appearances should 

 usually be considered accidental. In October, 1899, Mr. J. E. 

 Benedict, living in the suburbs of Washington (Garrett Park), 

 found thousands of these flies in his cellar where he was at 

 work. No cows or horses are kept near the house. There 

 is a chicken yard, however, on the premises and there is an 

 outside privy 50 feet from the cellar, which is used by all the 

 members of the family. It is possible that these thousands of 

 flies had entered the cellar for hibernating purposes, although 

 the weather was still warm. Where they bred is not known ; 

 but there had probably been a dead animal in the neighbor- 

 hood. 



