TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 27 



The Fly Nuisance. 



There exist in all communities 

 and outside of these, two main 

 types of pestiferous flies — the com- 

 mon housefly, and the socalled 

 blowfly — or dumpingfly, as they 

 dump myriads of eggs on decaying 

 and offensive material, as well 

 as on meat of all kinds. Both of 

 these fly species are a great public 

 nuisance, for various reasons. Both 

 of them can be kept outside of 

 dwellings by properly screening 

 the houses, stables, etc. The call 

 is to exterminate them — kill as 

 many as possible, as thereby mil- 

 lions of offspring will not exist 

 in the near future, which would 

 perhaps molest you or contaminate 

 your food-articles or transmit dis- 

 ease germs directly. 



Just now again sanitarians and 

 our health department are giving 

 considerable thought to the eradi- 

 cation of the fly nuisance, and 

 they urge to screen the houses 

 and premises and keep them clean 

 and in a sanitary condition. Sta- 

 bles especially, and outhouses, 

 slaughter houses, hog pens, and 

 in fact all such places where 

 decaying and offensive material 

 is liable to accumulate, should 

 constantly receive sanitary atten- 

 tion, as flies and othdr injurious 

 insects breed therein. By keeping 

 such places as clean as possible 

 and occasionally through sprink- 

 ling with lime and coal oil, carbolic 

 acid, etc., much good can be 

 done. 



With our common houseflies, 

 always more -or less flies with 

 sting-weappns commingle, an d 

 many such, especially of the stable 

 variety, resemble the common house 

 fly very closely. The cluster-fly 

 also often commingles with the 

 housefly; it is somewhat larger, 

 with smooth colored dark abdomen 

 and studded with yellowish hair. 

 It is, however, not as active 

 as our common fly and is often 

 subjected to a peculiar reddish 

 fungoid growth or parasite, which 



often kills the fly and is thus- 

 seen adhering to the window panes, 

 walls, etc. 



A large variety of other obnoxious 

 fly species are the blowflies, those 

 large and shining, flies, with glitter- 

 ing blue or green body. The 

 majority of them belong to the 

 viviparous insects, the eggs being 

 matured inside the fly's abdomen, 

 and deposited in form of minute, 

 wriggling yellowish-white worms. 

 Some such species, however, lay a 

 large number of very minute, 

 oval-shaped and elongated eggs^ 

 depositing same on all sorts of 

 fresh or decaying meats and food- 

 stuffs, and with much preference 

 also on venison of all kinds, 

 and they therefore are the most 

 disgusting flies, on record. 



In slaughter-houses (notscreened) 

 hog pens and on dead animals 

 they swarm by the millions and 

 they breed and multiply 

 in an exceedingly short time and 

 in immense numbers. On the prai- 

 ries and plains dead animals are 

 usually covered with th'em, black 

 masses of such flies and billions 

 of their larvae, and while feeding 

 oh such decaying animal matter 

 they are liable to be swvppt by the 

 wind currents into inhabited places 

 and here infect occupants of dwell- 

 ings or the domestic animals. 

 By their immense numbers and 

 multiplication they also do some 

 good in absorbing putrid fluids 

 and tissues, but, our common 

 turkey buzzard — ^that great sanita- 

 ry scavenger of the prairies and 

 plains — -does vastly better serv- 

 ice in disposing of a dead animal. 



These so-called "dumping flies" 

 or blowflies are also and especially 

 a. great nuisance at certain seasons 

 of the year in camp, during 

 outings, fishing time, hunting, etc., 

 and parties attemj^ting a pro- 

 longed outing trip in the woods 

 should provide themselves with 

 mosquito netting or wire screens 

 to cover the foodstuffs and game 



