APHIOCHAETA FERRUGINEA 307 



Its larva is of a yellowish colour ; the anterior extremity is pointed, the 

 posterior end is bluntly rounded off, and armed with a number of short 

 stiff spines. The pupa, according to Austen, is buff-coloured, and of the 

 usual boat-shape characteristic of the family ; the anterior end at first 

 tapers and then becomes abruptly truncated. The posterior extremity is 

 blunt and has a row of minute spines. 



This is one of the most important phorids, as it infests the human 

 intestinal canal in its larval stage. Brunetti states this fly was originally 

 sent to the Indian Museum in 1891 by Crombie with a note that it 

 was, ' reared from eggs passed in the excrement of a European in 

 Rangoon, eggs, grubs and flies all being voided together '. 



Austen, in a paper on ' Some Dipterous Insects which cause Myiasis in 

 Man ', records some observations made by Baker which suggest that 

 A. ferruginea is capable of living in the human intestine, and laying 

 its eggs, so that the patient passes out larvae, pupae and mature 

 flies. This is a remarkable life history, and one which, at first 

 sight, would seem to be impossible. Austen, however, points out that 

 another phorid belonging to the genus Conicera has been found in 

 America in a human body exumed two years after burial, and that 

 living larvae, pupae and adult flies were found together. 



Recently some specimens of larvae of A. ferruginea from the faeces 

 of a European at Negri Sembilan, in the Federated Malay States 

 were sent by Mr. Jackson to the King Institute for identification ; here, 

 however, there were no adult flies seen in the faeces. The result of the 

 invasion of the human intestine by the larvae of this fly is that they may 

 continue to be passed out for as long as a year, with symptoms 

 simulating those of beri beri. Aphiochaeta ferruginea may also cause 

 cutaneous myiasis ; Austen records an instance of this from British 

 Honduras. 



FAMILY ASILIDAE 



Small or large to very large flies, always elongate and with spiny 



legs. The head is broad and short, and nearly always flattened and 



jointed to the thorax by a well marked flexible neck ; both sexes are 

 dichoptic. 



These flies have been aptly named ' Robber flies ' on account of their 

 predaceous habits ; they are often to be seen resting motionless on walls, 

 stones, railings, etc., watching for their prey, which is always some 

 insect, often a fly. They dart with great suddenness and grasp their 



