TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISOENCES. 29 



flies in a small and thin glass, 

 and it was observed how the fly 

 deposited the living larvae, which 

 soon crawled around the interior 

 of the glass. As a rule, however, 

 most species of flies deposit prema- 

 ture ova and sooner or later, 

 according to temperature and other 

 environments, these are developed 

 into the larva and pupa states. 



Two Common Houseflies 

 Slightly Magnified : Lower One with Opened Abdo- 

 men, Showing the Matured Eggs or Fly worms (Lar- 

 val Flies). 



Both of these flies, I may state, 

 when captured on a window pane, 

 were quite large and the abdomen 

 distended, and one deposited living 

 worms shortly after being put into 

 the small glass. 



How immensely the flies breed 

 and multiply during the hot season 

 is well known and illustrated 

 herein — each of the small creeping 

 "worms" on the photo representing 

 •i future fly. I had prepared the 

 view during an outing and hunting 

 trip to a relative's farm where 

 the entrails of a small cotton tail 

 rabbit were purposely hung up 

 on a board to attract the blowfly. 

 It was in hot summer time, and 

 hardly had an hour passed when the 

 entire 'intestines and the board 

 itself swarmed with blowflies and 

 others of the pestiferous insects. 

 Fly eggs -and living fly worms were 

 soon present by the millions, and 



the photo seen herein was taken 

 on the second day with a close 

 focusing lens and a Bausch & Lomb 

 extension camera, showing the 

 uncountable swarm of living fly 

 worms. Had this same board with 

 the rabbit entrails been properly 

 screened not one of these Qy 

 worms would have been present. 



Now, this also gives us a good 

 lesson in how to destroy a fu- 

 ture fly scourge in its incipient 

 stage — simply by pouring a quart 

 of boiling water on such masses 

 of blowfly worms and eggs of 

 flies. In camp also, this method 

 of putting a piece of entrails, 

 some rotten cheese, or meat, dead 

 fish, etc., to a place outside 

 of camp, but near same, will 

 attract all or most of the flies in 

 the near vicinity and keep them 

 from molesting the campers. 



Chief Entomologist Howard, in 

 his admirable works on insect 

 life, states that the period of 

 development of the fly ova were 

 found to be about as follows 

 (in the climate around Washington, 

 D. C.) : "Egg from deposition 

 to hatching, one third of a day; 

 hatching of larvae to first molt. 



Myriads op Live Larval Flies 

 (Maggots) and Eggs Deposited by Swarm of 

 Flie's on Entrails of Rabbit (One-half Natural 

 Size). 



one day; first to second moltj 

 one day; second molt to pupation 

 three days: pupation to issuing 

 of 'the adult, five; days; total life 

 round, approximately ..ten da^ys. 



