242 MAJOR W. S. PATTON. 



ear, eye and vagina, and in sores, cuts, wounds and abscesses, in man and animals. 

 As a result of the enquiry made in India, I received the larvae of this species from 

 more than 170 cases of human and animal myiasis ; not a single larva was sent 

 from the intestinal tract. As this fly breeds only in living tissues it is rarely seen in 

 nature, for it does not frequent places where most other blowflies may be seen, 

 such as food stalls, refuse heaps, latrines, and about the bodies of dead animals. 

 The female fly is attracted by any offensive discharge, and will then lay her eggs 

 in a mass, varying in number from 380 to 500, on or near the tissues from which the 

 discharge comes. A sore, wound, or a diseased organ, such as a nose from which 

 there is an offensive discharge, is therefore a necessity. The larvae rapidly reach 

 maturity, owing to the high body temperature and rich food, and when mature 

 crawl out and pupate in the ground. It is very probable that the adults are flower- 

 feeders, and that as the mature larva stores up a large amount of food in its fat- 

 body, there is sufficient nutriment for the eggs to ripen, as in the case of the Oestridae. 



Chrysomyia hezziana is a well-known pest in Africa, where it has been recorded 

 by Rovere, Bouet, Roubaud and Joyeux from the Belgian Congo, the Upper Ivory 

 Coast and French Upper Guinea ; by Jack from Rhodesia ; and by Aders from 

 Zanzibar. Curiously enough, in Africa its larvae have been recorded only from the 

 tissues of the larger animals, chiefly cattle ; so far as I am aware, they have never 

 been found in human tissues. 



In India the female C. bezziana may be readily confused with the female of 

 Chrysomyia megacephala, F. {dux, Esch.) ; both species have yellow cheeks. In 

 order to distinguish them with any certainty, it is necessary to examine' the front 

 and to note the following points : — The front of the female megacephala is more than 

 one-third the width of the whole head, that of bezziana is distinctly less than one- 

 third. The frontal stripe of m^egacephala is wider than that of bezziana, the sides 

 appearing slightly convex along their outer margins ; in bezziana the stripe is slightl^ 

 browner and the sides are almost straight. The para-frontals in megacephala are 

 wider and of a greyish yellow colour, those of bezziana being much more silvery. 

 The ocular margin of megacephala is slightly concave, and the lower margin of the eye 

 rounder than in bezziana. The vertical bristles of megacephala are better developed 

 than those of bezziana. Lastly, and this is perhaps the most valuable distinguishing 

 character, the squamae of megacephala are of a dirty yellow colour, while those of 

 bezziana are waxy white ; in both they are covered with dark hairs. 



The male megacephala can be readily distinguished from the male bezziana by its 

 bright red eyes, and the area of large lenses occupying about the upper third and 

 surrounded by smaller ones. In the male bezziana the eyes are brown, and the 

 lenses are small and all of about the same size. 



Although originally described from Guinea, I have not seen any specimens of 

 megacephala from any part of Africa, so I am unable to say whether it occurs there. 

 It is plentiful in the bazaar at Port Said, and one would expect it to occur in Egypt 

 at least. It is, however, present in the Australian region. 



There is no other Calliphorine which may be confused with bezziana, unless it be 

 Chrysomyia flaviceps. I have not been able to identify this species with certainty, 

 and whenever this name is used by writers in India, Chrysomyia megacephala is 

 meant, so that there is some confusion regarding it ; it is probably a s^non3'm 

 for megacephala. 



There is much which has yet to be discovered in connection with the distribution 

 and life-history of Chrysomyia bezziana. For instance, we do not know the limits 

 of its eastern distribution. Does it occur in Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, China 

 and Japan ? I hope that those who have opportunities of collecting larvae from 

 living tissues, either of man or animals, in any of the areas mentioned above, will 

 do so, and send me the larvae for identification. 



