CHAPTER VII 



THE BLUEBOTTLE 



To purge the earth of death's impurities and cause de- 

 ceased animal matter to be once more numbered among 

 the treasures of life there are hosts of sausage-queens, 

 including, in our part of the world, the Bluebottle (Calli- 

 phora vomitaria, Lin.) and the Gray Fleshfly (Sar- 

 cophaga carnaria, Lin. ) . Every one knows the first, the 

 big, dark-blue Fly who, after effecting her designs in the 

 ill- watched meat-safe, settles on our window-panes and 

 keeps up a solemn buzzing, anxious to be off in the sun 

 and ripen a fresh emission of germs. How does she lay 

 her eggs, the origin of the loathsome maggot that battens 

 poisonously on our provisions whether of game or butch- 

 er's meat? What are her stratagems and how can we 

 foil them? This is what I purpose to investigate. 



The Bluebottle frequents our homes during autumn 

 and a part of winter, until the cold becomes severe; but 

 her appearance in the fields dates back much earlier. On 

 the first fine day in February, we shall see her warming 

 herself, chillily, against the sunny walls. In April, I 

 notice her in considerable numbers on the laurustinus. 

 It is here that she seems to pair, while sipping the sugary 

 exudations of the small white flowers. The whole of the 

 summer season is spent out of doors, in brief flights from 

 one refreshment-bar to the next. When autumn comes, 



