PHYLUM ARTHROPODA 



359 



Fig. 295. — Ordei 

 Diptera. Sheep-tick, 

 Me lophagus ovinus. 

 (From Sedgwick's 

 Zoology ) 



worms and other pests. The fruit-flies are abundant flies and 



easily reared. 



The bot-flies (CEstrid^:) are responsible for large losses every 



year because of their attacks on domestic animals. The horse 



bot-fly, Gastrophilus eqiti (Fig. 294), fastens 



her eggs to the hair on the legs or shoulders of 



horses. The larvae, which are licked off and 



swallowed, attach themselves to the lining of 



the stomach, where they live until ready to 



pupate. They then pass out of the alimen- 

 tary canal. Other common members of this 



family are the ox-warble, the larvae of which 



ruin the hides of cattle by boring through 



the skin, the sheep bot-fly, which lives in 



the nostrils of sheep, and the rabbit bot-fly. 



The flower-flies (Syrphid^e) live on nectar and pollen and 



are therefore found near flowers. The larvae feed on other in- 

 sects or on vegetable matter. 

 The drone- fly, Eris talis tenax, 

 resembles a drone honey-bee. 

 The suborder Pupipara 

 contains parasitic insects, in- 

 cluding bird, sheep, and horse 

 ticks, and bee-lice. The 

 sheep-tick, Melophagus ovinus 

 (Fig. 295), and the horse- tick, 

 Hippobosca equina, are com- 

 mon species. 



Order 17. Siphonaptera. 

 — Fleas (Fig. 296). — Degen- 

 erate insects without wings; 

 sucking mouth-parts; meta- 

 morphosis complete. 

 The fleas live among the hairs or feathers of domestic and 



wild mammals and birds. Their bodies are laterally compressed, 



Fig. 296. — Order Siphonaptera. Cat 

 and dog flea, Clenocephalus canis. a, egg. 

 b, larva in cocoon, c, pupa, d, adult. 

 (From Howard, Circ. 108, Bur. Ent., 

 U. S. Dep't Agric.) 



