﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  STATE 
  ENTOMOLOGIST 
  233 
  

  

  from 
  the 
  egg 
  to 
  the 
  adult 
  is 
  four 
  to 
  five 
  weeks, 
  and 
  tiiat 
  there 
  are 
  two 
  or 
  

  

  three 
  generations 
  during 
  the 
  summer, 
  — 
  the 
  last 
  occurring 
  in 
  September, 
  

  

  the 
  larva 
  hibernating 
  in 
  the 
  puparium 
  and 
  transforming 
  to 
  the 
  pupa 
  in 
  

  

  May. 
  Other 
  writers 
  claim 
  that 
  the 
  insect 
  passes 
  the 
  winter 
  in 
  the 
  adult 
  

  

  stage. 
  

  

  Food 
  Habits. 
  

  

  The 
  insect 
  has 
  long 
  been 
  known 
  as 
  a 
  cheese 
  pest. 
  In 
  a 
  notice 
  of 
  it 
  in 
  

   1879, 
  by 
  Prof. 
  Riley, 
  it 
  is 
  suggested 
  that 
  the 
  original 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  skippers 
  

   before 
  cheese 
  was 
  ever 
  made, 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  some 
  analogous 
  substance 
  

   — 
  possibly 
  a 
  peculiar 
  kind 
  of 
  fungus. 
  The 
  following 
  year 
  he 
  established 
  

   the 
  identity 
  of 
  the 
  meat 
  skipper 
  with 
  the 
  well 
  known 
  pest 
  in 
  cheese. 
  

  

  In 
  addition 
  to 
  smoked 
  ham 
  and 
  bacon, 
  the 
  fly 
  will 
  also 
  oviposit 
  and 
  

   breed 
  in 
  smoked 
  beef, 
  but 
  apparently 
  has 
  a 
  decided 
  preference 
  for 
  pork. 
  

   Such 
  was 
  the 
  experience 
  of 
  a 
  correspondent 
  of 
  Miss 
  Murtfeldt, 
  who 
  

   wrote 
  concerning 
  injury 
  to 
  beef 
  by 
  skippers 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  " 
  If 
  a 
  beef 
  ham 
  

   were 
  hanging 
  beside 
  that 
  of 
  a 
  hog, 
  the 
  former 
  would 
  most 
  likely 
  be 
  O. 
  

   K. 
  while 
  the 
  latter 
  would 
  be 
  stung." 
  *Dr. 
  Howard 
  mentions 
  chipped 
  

   beef 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  meats 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  fly 
  will 
  breed. 
  To 
  the 
  above 
  it 
  

   seems 
  that 
  salt 
  pork 
  may 
  also 
  be 
  added, 
  " 
  Germar 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  bred 
  

   this 
  insect 
  from 
  salt 
  alone" 
  (Glover, 
  loc. 
  cit.), 
  but 
  if 
  so, 
  the 
  larva 
  must 
  

   have 
  developed 
  in 
  some 
  other 
  food 
  and 
  entered 
  the 
  salt 
  for 
  pupation. 
  

  

  The 
  fly 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  an 
  excellent 
  judge 
  of 
  cheese, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  usually 
  the 
  

   best 
  qualities 
  that 
  are 
  affected. 
  So 
  marked 
  is 
  this, 
  that 
  "skippery" 
  

   cheese 
  may 
  be 
  pronounced 
  of 
  good 
  quality, 
  although 
  hardly 
  so 
  because 
  

   of 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  the 
  skippers. 
  

  

  Losses 
  Caused 
  by 
  the 
  Insect. 
  

  

  The 
  principal 
  damage 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  is 
  believed 
  to 
  be 
  confined 
  to 
  

   meats, 
  although 
  Mr.^X. 
  A, 
  Willard 
  (loc. 
  cit.) 
  in 
  1879 
  writes: 
  ''Immense 
  

   losses 
  are 
  sustained 
  every 
  year 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  skippery 
  cheese. 
  Some- 
  

   times 
  thousands 
  of 
  pounds 
  in 
  factories 
  are 
  tainted 
  in 
  this 
  way, 
  and 
  the 
  

   cheese 
  has 
  to 
  be 
  sold 
  for 
  what 
  it 
  will 
  bring, 
  while 
  a 
  portion 
  is 
  not 
  

   infrequently 
  so 
  badly 
  affected 
  that 
  it 
  has 
  to 
  be 
  thrown 
  away 
  at 
  the 
  

   factory." 
  

  

  In 
  1880, 
  Prof 
  Riley 
  {he. 
  at.) 
  recorded 
  an 
  injury 
  of 
  smoked 
  hams 
  to 
  

   the 
  extent 
  of 
  over 
  two 
  thousand 
  dollars, 
  inflicted 
  by 
  this 
  insect 
  upon 
  a 
  

   single 
  firm 
  in 
  Peoria, 
  111. 
  Miss 
  Murtfeldt, 
  in 
  1892, 
  was 
  informed 
  by 
  an 
  

   employe 
  in 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  largest 
  packing 
  and 
  curing 
  establishments 
  in 
  the 
  

   West, 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  '' 
  It 
  entails 
  an 
  enormous 
  loss 
  upon 
  all 
  our 
  packing- 
  

   house 
  companies." 
  Similarly, 
  Prof 
  Kellogg's 
  attention 
  was 
  called 
  to 
  the 
  

   insect 
  through 
  the 
  packing-houses 
  of 
  Kansas 
  City, 
  Mo., 
  being 
  seriously 
  

   troubled 
  by 
  the 
  pest. 
  

  

  