Twelfth Keport of the State Entomologist 



231 



prematurely from their winter hiding-places; but it was learned from the 

 gentleman that the cellar was not particularly warm, but that it was a 

 dry one. Second ; it has not hitherto been reported, so far as we know, 

 upon meat simply salted and not yet smoked, nor has the experiment 

 to rear it thereon been successful. Miss Murtfeldt has written : " I have 

 not been able to make it oviposit on fresh meat of any kind, nor does it 

 seem able to breed upon that which is simply salted, but not smoked, not 

 even when such meat is folded in wrapping papers." 



Description of the Insect. 

 The perfect insect is a small black fly about 5 mm. long, with a rather 

 large head bearing reddish, prominent eyes, shown in both sexes at 

 d and e in fig. i. The veins of the wings are nearly colorless and much 

 weaker than those of the common house-fly ; it is also about half the size 

 of the latter. The lower side of the head, the basal portions of the legs, 

 portions of the tibiae and tarsi of the posterior two pairs are a variable 



Fig. I.— PiopHiLA CASE!: «, larva; ^, puparium ; r, pupa; d^ male fly; <?, female with wings 

 / folded— all enlarged. (After Howard, Bull. 4 New Ser., Divis. Entomol. U. S. Dept. Agricul.) 



yellow. The females are a httle stouter than the males. The pu- 

 parium from which the fly emerges has been described as of a golden 

 yellow color — length about 4 mm. — its appearance is represented at b. 

 Though the parent flies may be seen in the vicinity of cheese and 

 around smoked meats, they usually do not attract so much attention 



