RELATION TO OTHER ANIMALS 175 



states and more metallic yellow or green in color, which 

 has similar habits so far as attacking wounds or raw 

 surfaces is concerned; but it does not, so far as I am 

 aware, ever actually bore into living flesh nor into the 

 openings of the face. The nearest approach to this 

 was in the case of a tramp admitted to the hospital at 

 New Brunswick, complaining of unbearable headache. 

 Investigation showed the ear cavities rilled with a dirty 



FIG. 77. Blue- bottle fly, Lucilia casar. 



mass in which were found maggots which I believe 

 were of this species. The ears were cleaned, syringed 

 and all the maggots removed before they had pene- 

 trated further into the head cavities. 



The large blue "meat-fly" or "blow-fly" has sim- 

 ilar habits and seems to occur all over the world, at- 

 tracting attention by its large size, deep blue color 

 and noisy hum. 



The one guard against all these semiparasitic scav- 

 engers is cleanliness and disinfection. It is the attrac- 

 tion of foulness that brings them to the attack, and if 

 by unavoidable accident an attack is made on some 



