44 HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



teresting investigation of the biting house-fly made by 

 Lucien Iches and reported in a paper to which we have 

 not had access. Iches found the flies swarming in great 

 numbers on a large estate in the province of Santa Fe , 

 Argentina. The cattle were very greatly annoyed and 

 driven almost frantic by the bites of the flies. Certain 

 Durham bulls were particularly infested with the flies. 

 The hair had disappeared in spots and the skin was crack- 

 ing. A search for the breeding places showed that the 

 larvae and puparia existed by the millions in the lower 

 portions of piles of straw left from threshing. Fermenta- 

 tion had begun in the straw, thus affording an attractive 

 place for the deposition of eggs. The breeding places 

 were destroyed by burning the straw. 



The bite of this fly is severe, as any one can attest who 

 has been a victim. Osborne says: "It causes a great 

 amount of annoyance to cattle, horses, and other domestic 

 animals, and it is frequently very troublesome to people 

 working in places where it abounds. Its bite is not 

 poisonous and aside from the pain given and the possibility 

 of its disseminating disease, it is less injurious than some 

 other members of the group. When abundant, however, 

 this annoyance may be very great, and they all deserve 

 attention." 



Bold gives an interesting note regarding the severity 

 of the bite on cattle. In this case fourteen cows under 

 the treatment of a veterinary surgeon were generally 

 bitten on the legs, shoulders, and rarely on the necks. 

 "In some of the severe cases the joints were so much 

 swollen that the poor animals could not bend their legs 

 to lie down ; and in them the inflammation rose so high as 

 to cause the loss of the outer skin and hair. The flies 



