163 



development are unknown. Some authors think that the young 

 larvae after hatching, reach the mouth and nostrils themselves, while 

 others believe that they are introduced into the mouth by lickmg and 

 then swallowed. Owing to the discovery in man of larvae of this 

 type in the areas of the skin affected by creeping myiasis, the 

 hypothesis has been evolved that the newly-hatched larvae penetrate 

 the skin of the horse and cause itching, which induces the ammal 

 to scratch with its teeth and so ingest the larvae. 



Most recent research has shown that the eggs of this fly do not 

 hatch spontaneously, and that the larvae can remain waiting m them 

 for several weeks until they are liberated from the egg by mechanical 

 contact ; the young larvae, liberated by contact with the mucous 

 membrane of the lips or gums, immediately perforate the epithelium ; 

 thev are unable to penetrate the skin, though they can develop in 

 the 'mucous membranes of the mouth. Infestation occurs when the 

 horse scratches with its teeth or rubs its legs with its nose and lips, 

 and chances of infestation can be greatly reduced by lightly rubbing 

 those parts where the eggs are laid, so as to cause their automatic 

 hatching. The development of Gijrostigma {Spathicera) infesting the 

 rhinoceros probably resembles that of Gasiropkilus owing to the 

 similarity of the eggs and young larvae. The point of entry of the 

 larvae occurring in creeping myiasis must be the external mucous 

 membrane of the eyelids or of the lips or some lesion of the skin, as 

 they cannot perforate the epidermis directly. 



Flies. — ^^nc. News, Barbados, xvi, no. 399, 11th August 1917, 

 pp. 241-243. 

 This editorial deals with the annoyance caused by flies in West 

 Indian houses, as well as the danger of disease arising from their 

 presence. An account is given of the life-history and usual methods 

 of control, and it is pointed out that the future development of the 

 West Indies depends largely upon increase in their population, while 

 disease, especially among infants, is an important factor in retarding 

 this, the most active disseminators of disease being flies. 



Carpenter (G. H.). Injurious Insects and other Animals observed in 



Ireland during the Years 1914 and 1915.— Econ. Proc. R. Dublin 



Soc, ii, no. 12, September 1916, pp. 233-237. [Received 10th 



September 1917.] 



The cattle louse, Trichodectes scalaris, N., occurred plentifully on 



cattle in Co. Dublin in the autumn of 1914, biting into the skm 



sufficiently to cause bleeding. As in the case of T. sphaerocephalus, 



the closely related species found on sheep, it is most important that 



infested animals should receive two dippings or washings at an 



interval of about ten days, as the eggs that are attached to the hairs 



of the host are not killed by a poison that kills the lice themselves. 



Froggatt (W. W. & J. L.). Slieep-Maggot Flies, No. 3.—DepL Agric. 



N.S.W., Si/dnsy, Farmers' Bull. no. 113, June 1917, 37 pp., 



12 figs. [Received 11th September 1917.] 



This report contains an account of the work carried out at the 



Government Sheep-fly Experiment Station from the end of 1915 to 



(C417) -^2 



