AN ECOLOGICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF 

 SARCOPHAGIDiE WITH RELATION TO LAKE 

 BEACH DEBRIS' 



BY 



WILLIAM B. HERMS 

 With Sevent Figurfs 



CONTENTS 



I Introduction 45 



II Habits and life histories of Lucilia caesar, the common green flesh fly; Compsomyia macellaria, 

 the screw-worm fly; Sarcophaga sarraceni^, a common large gray flesh fly; and Sarcophaga 



assidua, a small gray flesh fly 48 



m Normal Growth of Flies through Larval and Pupal Stages 55 



IV Correlation of Feeding Period to the Food Supply 65 



V Effects of Over and Underfeeding 67 



VT Correlation of Life Histories to the Surf Producing Storms 74 



VII Experiments upon Tropisms of Fly Larvae 77 



I INTRODUCTION 



The organic debris of Cedar Point beach near Sandusky, Qnfe, 

 as observed for the summer months consists principally of dead 

 fish, though salamanders and carcasses of birds are occasionally 

 cast up. In addition to these there is always a greater or lesser drift 

 of insects after each high surf. This insect drift consists largely 

 of the exuviae (not useful to scavengers because of lack of organic 

 matter) of the abundant May flies (Ephemeridae), also numerous 

 dead and some living individuals of the same order. Great wind- 

 rows of these insects together with their exuviae may often be 

 seen reaching for miles along the beach. 



Among other aquatic insects carried in by the surf, the more 

 conspicuous forms are: Hydrophilidae, Dytiscidae (2 species), and 

 Belostomidae (3 species). Stag beetles (Lucanidae), May beetles 

 (Scarabaeidae), Ground beetles (Carabidae), Dragon flies (Odonata), 

 Caddice flies (Phryganeidae), Crickets (Gryllidae), a few butter- 

 flies (chiefly Anosia plexippus) and moths (Lepidoptera) are all 



'Presented to the Faculty of the College of Arts, Philosophy and Science of the Ohio State University 

 as partial requirement for the degree of Master of Arts, June, 1906. 



Contribution from the Department of Zoology and Entomology of Ohio State University, no. 24. 



The Journal of Experimental Zoology, vol. iv, no. i. 



