THE BITING HOUSE FLY 



Dr. John B. Smith, at a meeting of the Entomolog- 

 ical Society of Washington, once stated that these 

 flies were very abundant at his house; that he had 

 not been able to observe any increase in numbers in 

 rainy weather, but on the contrary he had found 

 them gradually becoming more abundant until at 

 that time (November ist) they had almost replaced 

 the common house fly, which was being rapidly killed 

 off by the fungous disease mentioned in a previous 

 chapter. 



Hewitt states that in England it is often found in 

 houses, and he himself has found it in large numbers 

 in the windows of a country house in March and April. 

 He states that it is popularly known in England as the 

 "storm fly" from its habit of seeking the shelter of 

 houses during wet weather. 



Newstead states that in England (and the same con- 

 ditions hold for this country) farm yards and stables 

 are the favorite haunts of this fly, but that it occurs 

 also in the fields and parks and open woods, especially 

 where cattle are grazing. He has seen it resting on 

 the shop fronts of the main streets of both Liverpool 

 and Chester, and states that it is fond of resting on 

 surfaces fully exposed to the sun and that painted sur- 

 faces are also attractive to it. The greatest number 

 he ever saw congregated together was on the sunny 

 side of a red-painted iron tank at the old Chateau de 

 Goumont, Waterloo, Belgium. At night, he states, 

 they retire to some sheltered spot, and numbers may 

 be found at rest on the beams and rafters in open sheds 



