THE FOOD OF ANIMALS 



MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES (Lepidoptera) 



This is essentially a vegetarian order, and, as such, will be 

 described later on. The caterpillars of some moths, however, 

 infest furs, which they gnaw with their powerful mandibles, and 

 there are some adult members of the group, such as the Purple 

 Emperor Moth, which are fond of carrion, drawing up its de- 

 composing juices through the tubular proboscis formed by the 

 elongation of the first maxillae. 



FLIES (DiPTERA) (fig. 390) 



Many of the vast horde of Two-winged Flies which make up 

 this order are either predaceous, or else subsist on animal matter. 

 Most persons are under the impression that the common House- 

 Fly {Musca do^nestica) is able to bite at certain seasons of the 

 year, an erroneous idea partly due to the fact that a similar- 

 looking insect exists which has piercing mouth-parts. This is 

 the Stable-Fly {Stomoxys calcitrans) (compare fig. 392). The 



Fig. 391. — Tsetse-Fly [Glossina inorsitans) 

 A, Adult fly (enlarged): b, Piercing mouth-parts, and c, Antenna (greatly enlarged). 



mouth-parts of the formidable Tsetse-Fly (Glossina morsitans) 

 (fig. 391) of Tropical Africa are of similar kind. 



Gad- Flies. — It is a common thing for the blood-sucking habit 

 to be confined to the female insects, and a good example is fur- 

 nished by the Gad- Flies, of which the Ox- Fly or Great Horse- Fly 

 {Tabanus bovinus) is a terrible pest to horses and cattle. A much 

 commoner British insect, belonging to the same family, is the 

 familiar Clegg i^Hcematopota pluvialis), abundant in woods, and 

 of particularly slow flight. Most of us have experienced the 

 vicious stab this undesirable creature inflicts, and only an un- 



