FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB. 279 



little snakes wound themselves up the face of what were 

 to them huge precipices and hurled themselves into what were 

 comparatively speaking yawning chasms, with an intrepidity and 



a careless freedom which was quite a revelation, and I never 

 realised until then how splendidly adapted are the ophidia 

 to the mode of life which they are intended to pursue. Legs 

 would seem an incumbrance to such lithe elegant active 

 animals and the most graceful lizard was clumsiness embodied 

 besides them. I remained perfectly still and these snakes 

 darted all round my feet, over my boots, under them, going away 

 and returning with an activity which was perfectly astonishing. 

 After watching them for nearly an hour I caught both and 

 carried them home. On the plain board floor of the cage they 

 were different creatures and I regretted I had taken them 

 from their native wilds. 



THE CATTLE FLY. 



* Compsomyia rnacellaria. 



By C. W. Meaden. 



THE subject of this short paper is one of considerable interest 

 to those having the care and management of animals both 

 working and domestic. The specimen Hies which I exhibit, 

 were produced from larvae taken from the leg of a cow. These 

 larvae were removed from the animal on the 10th February and 

 immediately placed in damp soil, into which they burrowed with 

 astonishing rapidity, twelve days after the perfect fly emerged. 

 From this it would appear that a period of about two weeks 

 elapses between the time the maggot is deposited by the parent 

 fly and when the fully developed offspring come forth, capable 

 and willing to go on with the mischief of an evil life. The 

 larvre are of a whitey-brown colour, about A an inch long, divided 



* Mr. L. O. Howard who kindly determined this fly writes : — "This 

 " is the well known screw-worm fly of the south-western United States. 

 " This species is very annoying to cattle and other live stock while laying 

 " its eggs in sore places. It is also one of the species which is noted as 

 " occasionally attacking man. It will oviposit in running sores and has 

 " frequently been known to place its living larva; ia the nostrils of persons 

 " affected with chronic catarrh." 



