22 PARASITOLOGY. 



The head is yellowish or reddish in color. The 

 thorax and abdomen are covered with short, stiff 

 black hairs. 



Life Cycle. — The time at which the fly appears de- 

 pends upon the latitude. In Texas and Louisiana 

 they appear in June and last till autumn. The female 

 is oviparous, and lays as many as 200 eggs at one 

 laying. The larvae invade the wounds of animals, 

 and also decaying matter. The eggs hatch in about 

 nine hours, and the larvae develop rapidly. The 

 head part of the larva is provided with two teat-like 

 projections, and two booklets. The segments are 

 also provided with booklets. Its general appearance 

 is like that of a screw, from which it gets its name 

 (screw- worm). In the wound they are found bur- 

 rowing into adjacent tissue, with the posterior ex- 

 tremity upright. While these are developing other 

 eggs are laid in the wound. The pupae are brown 

 in color, and about two-fifths of an inch in length. 

 The pupal stage is passed in the ground, in ten days. 



Treatment. — Chloroform injected into the wound 

 will destroy them ; also creolin or carbolic acid 

 solutions. Curet or forceps may be used in remov- 

 ing them. The wound can then be treated with the 

 zinc and lead solution, made as follows : 



^ Zinc sulph 5vi 



Lead, acetate 5i 



Water Oi 



Sarcophaga Carnaria (Sarcophagous — tiesh-eating). 

 (Carnivora — dead meat). 



Synonyms. — Flesh-fly; gray carnivorous fly; car- 

 nivorous sarcophagus. 



