48 HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



house-fly not full-grown. The Germans call it the " Kleine 

 stiibenfliege," which means little room-fly or house-fly. 

 The lesser house-fly differs markedly from the house-fly 

 not only in size, but in other characters. The fifth vein 

 of the wings runs straight out to the edge without the 

 sharp upward curve of the same vein in the wing of 

 the house-fly. Indeed, the lesser house-fly belongs in the 

 family Anthomyiidce, a family considered, by some 

 authors, distinct from the Muscidce, w T hich contains the 

 house-fly. Although the lesser house-fly appears rather 

 early in the season, it is soon lost among the greater 

 numbers of the house-flies that come on in June and July. 



The larvae of the lesser house-fly differ very much from 

 those of the house-fly. The body is compressed or 

 flattened and along each side bears a double row of spiny 

 processes very different from the perfectly smooth maggots 

 of the house-fly. The dirt usually clings to the spines, 

 thus giving the maggots a dirty appearance. The full- 

 grown maggot measures from ^ to J of an inch in length. 



The larvae of the lesser house-fly live in waste vegetable 

 matter, in the manure of different animals and especially 

 in human excrement. Hewitt says he has found them 

 very abundant in privies. This habit of breeding in 

 excreta of various kinds makes the flies dangerous inhabit- 

 ants of our rooms. They may act as conveyors of disease- 

 germs quite as readily as the real house-fly. They are 

 rapid breeders, for a generation may be produced in two 

 weeks in hot weather. 



It is interesting to know that some of the Anthomyiids 

 are parasitic on other insects, while some are well-known 

 pests of garden crops, for example, the cabbage-root 

 maggot, the onion maggot, and the beet-leaf miner. 



