104 



PRINCIPAL HOUSEHOLD INSECTS. 



In ten days tlie adult fly issues. Miss Murtfeldt was ui.able to make 

 the fly lay its eggs on fresh meat of any kind, nor did she find that it 

 was able to breed upon meat wliich was simply salty. The average 

 duration of adult larvi^e, according to her observations, does not exceed 

 a week, and thus the entire life cycle maybe concluded in three weeks. 

 These observations were made in August. 



During February of the same jear specimens of the same insect were 

 sent by a Kansas i^acking house to Mr. Y. L. Kellogg, then of the 

 Kansas State University. At that time of the year his breeding notes 

 show that the egg state occupied about four days, the larva state about 

 two weeks, and the pupa state one week.^ The adults lived in the 

 breeding jars from six days to two weeks after issuing from the puparia. 

 Larvae kept with ham and bacon did not take at all kindly to cheese 

 to which they were removed. Careful observations on the life history in 

 Europe have been made by Dr. H. F. Kessler.^ Dr. Kessler found that 

 the average time in developing from the egg to the adult is four to five 

 weeks, with two or three generations during the summer, the last 

 generation occurring in September, the larva over-wintering in the 

 pnparium and transforming to pupa in May. Other writers say that 

 the insect passes tbe winter in the adult stage. 



As a cheese insect in this country this fly does not play as impor- 

 tant a role as it does as an enemy to smoked meat. It is a matter of 

 observation that the mother fly seems to prefer the older and richer 

 cheeses in which to deposit eggs. Her taste is excellent, and while 

 it is a fair thing to say that " skipj)ery " cheese is usually the best, it 

 will hardly do to support the conclusion that it is good because it is 

 "skippery," although this conclusion is current among a certain class 

 of cheese eaters. With the abundance of the species in i)acking 

 houses we have nothing to do in this connection. When occurring 

 upon hams it seems to prefer the outer fatty portions. 



KEMEDIES. 



All that we have said of the preventives for the cheese and meat 

 mites will answer equally well for the '^skipper." Portions of cheese 

 and hams attacked should be cut out, shelves of x)antries should be 

 kept scrupulously clean, and the kerosene-emulsion wash used when it 

 has once been determined that the insect is present in numbers. Every 

 crack should be carefully washed out, since tbe puparia might be found 

 in such situations. Close screening of the windows of pantries is 

 advised to keep out the fly. 



1 Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci., Vol. XHI, 114-115. 

 ^Bericht d. Ver. f. Naturk. z. Cassel, Vols. XXIX 



XXX, pp. 58-60. 



