FARM PESTS 25 



Bots at this stage cause much suffering to the poor beast ; 

 a swelling comes up, called the warble, the skin being 

 perforated with a hole at the top. The blood and pus 

 formed under these warbles provides the food of the bot, 

 and as it approaches maturity it thrusts its tail out of 

 the hole in the hide. It finally drops to the ground and 

 changes to a black pupa, from which emerges the perfect 

 fly at various times from June to September. 



What can possibly be the use of such disgusting, even 

 malignant insects, asks some one ? I am not going to 

 make apologies for the Ox Warble Fly or any other stock 

 pest. One cannot look upon it with any sort of indulgence, 

 nor as yet are Ave acquainted with any natural remedy 

 to be called in aid. The reason for the Warble Fly's 

 existence is that it is part of the scheme of evolution, 



hereby the various species of animals and plants on 

 [he earth are always being determined, often by the most 

 nsuspected agents, and this has always been going on 

 from the beginning of time. If we have been producing 

 unusual numbers of beasts by a wrong j)rinciple, which 

 could never be indigenous, then the bot flies and other 

 parasites will assuredly win the day. We must endeavour 

 to give our stock the vigour and provide it with the 

 environment which least departs from the natural type 

 and habitat, and in that way in my opinion it will be 

 best fitted to resist parasitical attack. 



So much for the theory, but that is no reason why we 

 should relax our diligence in taking this trouble in hand 

 and doing what is humanly possible to diminish it at the 

 present moment. It is best with all insect pests to seek 

 out if we can the weakest stage of development, and 

 knowing that the eggs of the Warble Fly are laid during 

 the hot months, we can, in the case of cows, keep a good 

 look-out for them on the hair and legs. A little practice 

 will work wonders in the detection of these small ova, and 

 every egg thus found and destroyed means a great deal 

 less suffering for the animal. Another time to check 



