12 INSECT PARASITES. 



II. INSECT PARASITES. 



The chief insect enemies of the GallinaceaB are 

 found amongst the orders Diptera and Neuroptera — 

 the former being armed with a sharp piercing-mouth, 

 the latter with biting-mouths. The Diptera are 

 those insects which are typically characterized by 

 possessing one pair of wings only, the second pair 

 being reduced to minute club-shaped processes called 

 halteres, balancers, or poisers. All the Diptera pass 

 through a complete metamorphosis — that is, they have 

 an active larval or maggot state, which on reaching 

 maturity gives place to a quiescent period, known 

 as the pupal state, the insects then taking no food 

 whatever ; in this condition the larva is transformed 

 into the perfect insect or imago. There are some 

 few Diptera, however, that are devoid of wings, 

 notably the Fleas [PuUciclce) and some of the Ticks 

 {Pupipara). The former are the chief true dipterous 

 enemies of the Fowl. A few others referred to are 

 not of any great import. 



The second group of insect pests are the Bird-Lice 

 or Mallophaga. These Lice, of which there are eight 

 species found on the Fowl in our country, are armed 

 with a biting- and not a sucking- and piercing-mouth, 

 such as we see in the true Ticks (Pupipara) and Acarina 

 or Mites. Their true systematic position is not clearly 

 defined ; in all probability they are closely related to 

 the Neuroptera. In this order they are placed by 

 Dr. Sharp in his admirable account of the Insecta 



