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104 



cholera and dysentery, as well as other pathogenic organisms, 

 especially the virus of trachoma. It has generally been accepted that 

 the house-fly found throughout the world, and especially in tropical 

 countries, is always Musca domestica, but the author is not of this 

 opinion, basing his disagreement on structural differences. It is quite 

 possible, however, that M. domestica may have been carried to all the 

 ports of the world and has now become established there. There 

 are many other species of the genus Musca that have a distinct 

 influence on the health of stock animals, such as M. autunmalis, 

 for example, which feeds on blood and serous and other pustular 

 discharges, and is exclusively an outdoor insect. Such species frequently 

 follow the true biting flies, sucking up any remains of blood from their 

 punctures ; though what their germ-carrying capacity may be is not 

 yet known. 



The author divides the genus Mnsca into two groups : (1) the house- 

 fly group, and (2) the wild species group. Under the first are included 

 all those species that are cosmopolitan in habit, but are mainly found 

 in and about human dwellings. The most important species are 

 M. domestica, in both typical and atypical forms, M. nebtdo and M. 

 humilis. In the second group are M. pattoni and other species found 

 only on animals or plants in the open or on cow-dung. They are all 

 intermittent feeders, flitting from one animal to another, hence their 

 importance as possible carriers of trypanosomes such as those causing 

 nagana and surra. These haematophagous species abound in all 

 tropical countries and can always be caught on animals as well as on 

 dead game. All the Indian species studied breed in cow-dung. 



Preliminary studies of the Oriental species are recorded. Those 

 dealt with include M. nebula, F. [determinata, Wlk.) ; M. domestica, L. 

 (atypical form), many synonyms being given which the author believes 

 will prove to be this atypical form of the species ; M. humilis, Wied., 

 of which the synonyms include eutaeniata. Big., and promisca, Awati ; 

 M. pumila, Macq. {vetustissima, Wlk.) ; M. ventrosa, Wied. {kasauli- 

 ensis, Awati, and hilli, J. & B.) ; M. albomactdata , Macq. (setigera, 

 Awati) ; M. pattoni, Aust. [spinosa, Awati) ; M. gibsoni, Patton & 

 Cragg {latiparafrons, Awati) ; M. spinohumera, Awati, which is 

 haematophagous in habit ; M. bezzii, Patton & Cragg {pilosa, Awati) ; 

 M. (Pristirhynchomyia, Philaematomyia) lineata, Brun. ; M. cinga- 

 laisina. Big. {pollinosa, Stein, and indica, Awati) ; M. {Ptilolepis) 

 inferior, Stein {Philaematomyia gurneyi, Patton & Cragg) ; M. 

 {Philaematomyia) crassirostris, Stein {insignis, Aust.). 



Awati, in mentioning M. corvina as a synonym of his M. spinohumera, 

 evidently refers to Portchinsky's M. corvina. Portchinsky, however, 

 recognised two types of M. corvina in Russia, namely, ilf. corvina 

 ovipara, found only in North Russia, and M. corvina vivipara, found 

 only in the Crimea. Portchinsky appears to have given no description 

 of the larviparous species in any of his writings, and, as Schnabl and 

 Dziedzicki partly describe the male, the species must in future be 

 known as M. larvipara, Schnabl & Dziedzicki, and not Portchinsky. 



The Australasian species dealt with include M. domestica, L., 

 (typical form), ^vith synonym M. vicaria, Wlk. ; M. domestica (atypical 

 form), with synonym M. antiquissima, Wlk. ; M. pumila, Macq. ; 

 M. terra-reginae, J. & B. ; M. ventrosa, Wied. ; M. convexifrons, 

 Thoms. {fergusoni, J. & B.). 



The species of Musca from the Ethiopian region will be dealt with 

 in a subsequent paper. 



