CHAPTER III 



IN the preceding chapter we have learned how the House 

 Fly lays its eggs, how those eggs develop into white maggots, 

 and how within a few days they change into the chrysalis 

 condition and emerge as full-grown House Flies. The adult 

 fly is wonderfully constructed, and, like all the works of 

 Nature, it is perfectly adapted for its mission in life, which 

 is chiefly that of a scavenger. It is this very fact which 

 causes the House Fly to be dreaded by man. It breeds in 

 filth of the foulest nature, it wallows in it, and it feeds on it. 



The mouth parts of a House Fly are constructed for suck- 

 ing purposes, and it is consequently unable to bite or punc- 

 ture the skin, as can its relative the blood-sucking fly. The 

 six feet of the House Fly have each two claws, and in addi- 

 tion on the foot of each is a soft pad thickly covered with 

 fine hairs, which secrete a sticky substance that enables the 

 fly to walk upside down or upon highly polished surfaces 

 such as window panes. The entire body is covered with 

 coarse bristles, giving the magnified body of a fly a most 

 repulsive appearance. 



Knowing the structure of the fly and its habits, it can 

 clearly be realised how it can carry the microbes of disease. 

 On emerging from the chrysalis the House Fly instantly sets 

 off on a quest for food. It is provided with an acute sense 

 of smell, and decaying vegetable and animal matter has an 

 irresistible attraction for it. Visiting the garbage box and 



