THE ANIMAL LIFE OF THE GROUP. 387 



]\Ielox-Fly. 



A somewhat larger and haiidsonior. lh(iui;h similar appeariiiir fly i)est. is 

 the melon-tty.i' It was first noticed on Oahu as long ago as 1897, and since 

 that time has succeeded in doing for the melons and fleshy vegetables what the 

 fruit-fly has done for the fruit of the islands. They not only infest the fruit, 

 but the vines as well, and as there is an abundant variety of plants on which 

 they feed, they ravage the truck gardens throughout the year. 



The IIorn-Fly and Other iN.ji'Riors Flies. 



The horn fly 1^ is a pest of the live stock of the islands; the damage it 

 does is of equal rank with the fruit and melon-flii's. It was introduccil from 

 California in 1897, and within a year had spread throughout the group. In 

 the years that have passed it has bred uninterruptedly, and the annoyance 

 caused by its blood-sucking habits has been felt by all the live stock on the 

 Hawaiian ranches. Owing to its vicious bite, a loss of hundreds of thousands 

 of dollars has been sustained by ranchmen through the shrinkage in weight of 

 animals to be sent to market. 



Other flies that have more or less economic importance are the stable fly ;'" 

 the horse bot-fly,-" found on horses or about stables; the sheep-head maggot 

 fly;,-' two flesh flies ;-2 two bluebottle flies r^ the sheep-maggot fly -* on sheep; 

 and warble-flies of tw'O species -'' on cattle. The familiar house fly -'' is every- 

 where present and in some localities abundant, though it is kept in control by 

 parasites -" that make it their host, and to some extent doubtless by certain 

 species of ants. 



MosQriTOES. 



With the flies as members of the great order Diptcra, should be considered 

 the representatives of the mosciuito family. Of these, three important mos- 

 quitoes, the night mosquito -^ and the two day mosquitoes, one -" with two 

 white stripes on each side of the tluu-ax, and the other"" with one white stripe 

 on the thorax, are conunou in the islands. They are so aliundant in certain 

 localites as to be the i)riiicipal source (}f man's discomfort in Hawaii. So far 

 they have not themselves become innoculated with the diseases which else- 

 where they transmit from one person to another, producing, in the case of one 

 of the clay mosquitoes,'" the dreaded yellow fever of tropical and subtropical 

 countries. Through the introduction of natural enemies, as the mosquito fish, 

 frogs, dragon flies and llic like, in connection with the various campaigns to do 

 away with standing water, which is their natural breeding place, all of the 

 species have been materially reduced in numbers in Honohilu, but the\' are 



^~ narua cururbita:. ^^ 1/ ,r,„,il,,l,„i «,,,,(,/ ' " sf-.,,,,. , „« i-idrilrinis. -" Gnstrnpliiliis eqri. 



=1 rK.s(r"s ovis. 22 ,y„|.,.,, ,,/,„,,„ /,„,/,,,/,, ,,1.1 x /.,///,,<.;(/.,, the latter with a red tip to the .ibdomen. 



=^ Tile European bUiebottlr, L>i. ■,}><> .^•,,riil,i ;iimI Mm ATmrlraii species, L. ciet-ar. ~* Oestrus oi-is. 



-' Ui/iioderma boris and U. lu,,,,!,,. -" l/».sr,/ ,/,.,„.>(,, „. 



-' Euroila impatifns, tlie stable fiv parasite, and Siii.Unitiiu h'lrln. 



^» Sti-!/owiiiii fasciata (Fal)r) = .V. ealoims (Meigen). ■<•' Slrr/oM 



=■1 S. sciilellaris. 



