INSECTS AFFECTING MAN AND ANIMALS 181 



inence as the possible means of the transmission of infantile 

 paralysis, though this indictment now seems unsubstanti- 

 ated, and probably is the means of transmitting other 

 diseases. 



The life history is much the same as that of the house 

 fly, but development takes place more slowly, the complete 

 life cycle requiring three or four weeks under favorable con- 

 ditions. Although the larvae live in horse manure they have 



FIG. 129. The stable fly or biting house fly (Stomoxys calcUrans). 

 Adult, larva, puparium, and details. All enlarged. (After 

 Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



been found much more abundant in straw, particularly 

 oat straw, and in manure where straw has been used 

 liberally. 



The same methods of control as advocated for the house 

 fly are advisable around stables, and the leaving of strawy 

 manure in piles and allowing the barnyard to become knee 

 deep in it, furnish the best conditions for the development 

 of these flies. In the grain belt, where large loose stacks of 

 straw are scattered over the fields, heavy summer and fall 



