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DIPTERA. — «85 
(Estrus is never observed to follow him. At other times this (strus gets between 
the forelegs of the horse whilst he is grazing, and thus makes its attack on the lower 
lip. The titillation occasions the horse to stamp violently with his forefoot against 
the ground, and often strike with his foot, as if aiming a blow at the fly. They 
also sometimes hide themselves in the grass and as the horse stoops to graze, they 
dart on the mouth or lips and are always observed to poise themselves during a few 
seconds in the air, while the egg is preparing on the point of the abdomen. 
LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 
Having discussed pretty fully the habits of the common species, it 
will be unnecessary to go into details that are similar in other species, 
but simply call attention to distinguishing characters and such differ- 
ences in habit as may be of economic importance. 
Prof. A. E. Verrill (Report on External and Internal Parasites of 
Man and Domestic Animals, p. 29) gives the following condensed state- 
ment of its life history and habits: 
The Gastrophilus hemorrhoidalis, or red-tailed bot-fly, is a small species, easily dis- 
tinguished by the bright orange-red tip of the abdomen. The thorax above is olive 
gray and hairy, with a black band behind the suture. The base of the abdomen is 
whitish and the middle blackish, in strange contrast with the orange red of the end. 
The larvze have the same habits and are found in the same situations with those of 
the common bot-fly, which they much resemble, except that they are whiter and 
smaller, their length not exceeding one-half or five-eighths of an inch. They change 
to pup within two days after leaving the horse, and the pup are deep red. They 
remain in the pupa state about two months, and the flies appear from the last of 
June till the cool weather of autumn. In depositing the eggs the female differs in 
habit from the common bot-fly, for she selects the lips and nose of the horse as the 
most suitable place for this purpose.. The eggs are darker colored [some authors say 
black] than those of the common bot-fly, and contain a nearly developed embryo, so 
that they very soon hatch, and the young larv are transferred to the mouth by the 
tongue, and thence get into the stomach. 
REMEDIES. 
On account of the shorter time between deposition of eggs and hatch- 
ing of larve, it is evident that the removal of eggs as for that species 
would be less successful. Jor horses in use, immediate attention when 
they give signs of the presence of the fly, the capture of the insect 
and the removal of eggs already attached would be but the natural 
method suggested by a knowledge of the insect. For horses in pasture, 
if exhibiting signs of molestation by this insect, the same attention 
would be advisable whenever the nature of the case will permit. It 
would be worth while to try the application of some oil or tar to the 
hairs of the lips as a prevention to the fastening of the eggs to them. 
HORSE Bov-FLY oR “CHIN FLY.” 
(Gastrophilus nasalis Linn.) 
As already stated, this species has been more or less confused 
with equi in scientific writings and doubtless still more so in general 
observation. 
