128 DIPTERA OF MINNESOTA. 



We have at least three species of hot flies belonging to this genus, 

 Gastrophilus, in Minnesota: Gast/opJulus equi, just described, and 

 G. haemorroidalis and G. nasalis, which will be described later. 



Remedies and Means of Prevention : 



A horse will not be attacked as long as it is in the stable. Ordinarily 

 a stable horse can be kept free from what "nits" it gets while out of 

 doors by proper currying, and no careful man in charge of horses is 

 going to allow the eggs to remain on the animal or animals in his 

 charge. Horses in pasture, not being groomed frequently, become 

 covered with eggs during the summer and early fall, and such animals 

 should be carefully examined every two weeks, and all "nits" removed. 

 The eggs can be cut off or killed by a trace of kerosene, just brushing 

 them over with a feather wet in the oil, and not using enough kerosene 

 to injure the hide. Or they may be killed by the use of a wash con- 

 sisting of one part of carbolic acid in thirty parts of water. Further, 

 we can resort to clipping, when eggs are deposited in numbers, or to the 

 use of a sharp razor, destroying the eggs with the latter, without cutting 

 much of the hair. A thoughtful teamster in a field or elsewhere, 

 if he observes a bot fly disturbing his horses, is going to try to kill 

 the fly with his hat or otherwise, and thus prevent further trouble. 



City horses, whose droppings fall mostly on pavements, and in 

 other places unfavorable for the further development of the bots, are 

 not so subject to the pest as are the animals in the country. 



The United States Department of • Agriculture has in the past 

 suggested the advisability of treating piles of dung by some process 

 which will destroy the fly. It is very evident that as long as the horse 

 is kept from licking his coat where the eggs or larvae are no harm" can 

 befall him other than the irritation caused by the attacks of the fly. 

 A horse in poor condition, in whose droppings the owner occasionally 

 notices bots, is probably so badly affected as to call for treatment, 

 and a veterinarian should be consulted. Sometimes turpentine is used 

 internally, but it is a dangerous remedy in the hands of the uninitiated. 

 Four ounce doses of turpentine, four hours apart, until three or four 

 doses have been given, the last dose followed by one ounce of powered 

 aloes, has been recommended. Carbon bisulphide has also been used 

 in Italy with marked success. Six gelatine capsules, each containing 

 15 grams of C S 2 were given to two horses at intervals of two hours. 



