168 



in the course of the winter suck blood, fruit or water, and thus cleanse 

 themselves, whereas fat specimens do not feed at all. 



As regards the entry into and exit from buildings it appears that 

 these movements coincide with the variation in sunrise and sunset. 

 Further research is necessary on this point. All the facts detailed 

 here yield the result that Anophelines with mature eggs, unfed and 

 unfertilised females, and males issue for the most part from their 

 shelters in the evening before nightfall ; a few do so before daybreak. 

 The shelters are entered partly in the evening before night and partly 

 in the morning before full daylight. The number entering in the morn- 

 ing is much larger than that in the evening. The Anophelines that enter 

 are males, unfed females that have not yet been fertilised, or females 

 that have produced eggs. Entrance maj^ also occur, though only in a 

 small degree, during the night or even by day. 



' The exit of the Anophelines has evidently two objects, one being 

 to provide an opportunity for the fertilisation of the females, and the 

 other to provide an opportunity for oviposition by mature individuals. 



The entrance likewise has two objects, one the desire for a temporary 

 shelter on the part of newly emerged males and of females awaiting a 

 suitable time (sunset) for mating in the open, and the other, the desire 

 of fertilised females to suck blood and to shelter in order to digest their 

 food and mature the eggs. 



Other experiments show the incorrectness of the opinion that Ano- 

 phelines feed daily and that they daily leave their shelters for the 

 open air. This is of importance in connection with the spread of 

 malaria. 



Miller (D.). Sheep Maggot-flies and their Allies. — 'N.Z. Jl. Agric, 

 Wellington, xxii, no. 6, 20th June 1921, pp 321-334, 17 figs. 



This paper is a preliminary review of several species of maggot-flies 

 collected in New Zealand. Their principal characters are given, together 

 with their life-history, and nature of the damage caused to sheep. 



There are at least 15 species in New Zealand. The only indigenous 

 ones are Calliphora quadrimaciilata, Swed., C. hortona, Wlk., C. icela, 

 Wlk., and Pyrellia antennatis, Hutton. Short descriptions of each 

 insect are given, and the local information regarding specimens forwarded 

 by sheep owners is tabulated. The most important wool-blowing flies 

 in New Zealand are Pollenia stygia and Lucilia sericata, and in Australia 

 P. stygia and Chrysomyia (Pycnosoma) rufifacies. The larvae of the 

 latter resemble those of Fannia caniciilaris, but its presence in New 

 Zealand is doubtful. 



Bluebottles have been reported as attacking sheep, but only C. hortona 

 has been bred from wool. The others have not yet been identified, 

 but it is thought that C. erythrocephala and C. quadrimaculata on rare 

 occasions infest sheep, especially if they are dirty. Spinose maggots 

 have been found infesting wool and burrowing into the skin, but 

 attempts to rear the adults were unsuccessful. They may have been 

 F. canicularis or Chrysomyia rufifacies. 



Lambs suffer most from maggot-flies, and ewe lambs more than 

 wethers. Flies are attracted by blood at docking time and have also 

 been known to strike round a ram's horns. Dirty sheep are usually 

 attacked, but clean sheep may be blown at the shoulders. Decaying 

 feet in foot-rot, dog-bites and other wounds are also blown. In some 

 parts the flies are active throughout the winter. They are more trouble- 

 some in sheltered places and in moist and hot seasons. Blowing continues 



