55 



•days later the larvae pupated and in 15 days several flies were obtained, 

 and by repeating the process, 50 flies were reared in two months. The 

 males appeared to exceed the females by two to one. Experiments 

 showed that there was no difhculty in rearing the flies in the laboratory- 

 providing the darker coloured, large larvae, were used. The white 

 ones, especially if small, rarely pupated. The larval period depends 

 entirely upon food conditions and the frequency of the meal of blood, 

 and varies from an unknown minimum up to several months. The 

 larvae are capable of supporting a very long fast, one under obser- 

 vation living for more than two months without food. On the 16th 

 November, a female, just captured, began to oviposit and on the 17th 

 had laid 25 eggs and then clied ; on the 18th one larva had already 

 hatched. According to laboratory observations the pupal stage is 

 between 8 and 15 days. It was observed that none of the pupae 

 collected outside ever developed, and apparently they are 

 exceedingly sensitive to handling or to the shghtest injury. 

 When the larvae are put into a flask containing sand they inmiediately 

 bury themselves to a depth of about two inches, and once in the sand, 

 they remain quiescent during the day, but as soon as night arrives 

 they begin to move about. It is generally believed that these larvae 

 only bite at night and that the heat of the animal body directs them 

 to their food. Darkness, however, is not a necessary factor, as they 

 remain active at night even when placed within the rays of a powerful 

 lamp. Though the larvae of Auchmeromyia thus appear to be noc- 

 turnal in their habits, the author was assured by natives that they 

 were just as liable to be bitten in the day-time as at night if they lay 

 on the floor of their huts. 



Consulterio avicola [Poultry Notes]. — Chacaras e Q/nntaes, S. Paulo, 

 X, no. 6, 15th December 1914, pp. 414-415. 



The following recipes for insecticidal dressings for poultry are given : 

 Kerosene 40 parts, carbolic acid 3 parts ; mix and either spray or 

 rub on. Wood ashes and kerosene made into a paste and rubbed over 

 the feathers, or more liquid, and sprinkled on the birds. Plaster of 

 Paris 4Hb., cresol \\h., gasohne |- pint; mix thoroughly till dry, 

 reduce to fine powder and dust over the birds. Liver of sulphur 3 oz., 

 tepid water 5 pints ; wash the birds in the solution and take care that 

 they do not catch cold afterwards. A tablespoonful of hog's lard, 

 a teaspoonful of kerosene and a few drops of carbolic acid ; rub the 

 head hghtly, the joints of the wings and the back of the ribs and hip 

 joints. Tincture of Cocculus indicus, made by macerating the seeds 

 in alcohol for 8 or 10 days ; to be painted on with a brush or feather, 

 under the feathers, especially those of the head, and around joints. 

 Common soap, sufficient to make a shmy mass with cold or tepid water, 

 add 5 per cent, kerosene and crude carbolic acid enough to give a 

 slightly dark colour ; paint attacked parts with a brush and repeat 

 the operation in a couple of days. The most effective remedy of all 

 is fumigation with burning sulphur ; great care should be taken that 

 the fumes do not reach the birds' heads. [See this Revieiv, Ser. B, ii, 

 p. 30.] 



