THE FLIES THAT CAUSE MYIASIS IN MAN 27 



beef or hard-boiled hen's eggs at 99°. According to Melvin and Bush- 

 land. 3 good results may be obtained in breeding successive generations 

 with the following formula : 



Milk ml 750 



Citrated calf's blood do 250 



Formaldehyde do 0. 5 



Ground lean beef g 500 



If these ingredients are mixed thoroughly in a 6-quart enameled pan 

 and a piece of cotton (about 10 grams) is rolled into the mixture to 

 form a raft, it will serve as a breeding medium for 2,000 to 3,000 newly 

 hatched larvae and have the outstanding merit of doing away with 

 objectionable odors, even when the larvae are mature. Breeding 

 should be done in a warm room, at a temperature of 85° to 100° F. 



The larvae should be allowed to escape into trays shallowly filled 

 with sand, from which they may be transferred for pupation to jars 

 partly filled with sand half saturated with water. 



Wohlfahrtia vigil. — Although the females of this species could not 

 under ordinary conditions be induced to larviposit on any but living 

 animals, larvae were successfully reared on fresh meat by Ford (37 / 40, 

 p. 32 Ji) who gives considerable information on the rearing methods. 

 The following is an abstract of Ford's method. 



A supply of unblown meat may be maintained by placing a rabbit 

 in the refrigerator immediately after it has been killed. Pieces of the 

 muscle are placed in a petri dish to receive the larvae, and fresh pieces 

 should be added from time to time, as the maggots will not thrive on 

 stale meat. It is best to put several larvae in one dish. The petri 

 dishes should be securely covered and placed in a dark cupboard ; before 

 time for pupation the whole mass should be transferred to a quart 

 fruit jar half filled with damp sawdust. 



NONSPECIFIC AND ACCIDENTAL MYIASIS PRODUCERS 



Cadaver-feeding Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae are. in general, 

 easily reared. Ground, lean beef makes a good breeding medium; 

 however, hamburger purchased from markets should not be used, since 

 it may contain too much fat, or may already have been blown. As a 

 further precaution against previous blowing, meat should be obtained 

 from the center of a large piece, and, of course, the grinder should 

 be freshly cleaned. 



Wide-mouth jars covered with two or more layers of gauze make 

 satisfactory breeding cages, if kept in a fly-free place. Twenty larvae 

 will thrive on 10 grains of meat and maintain a pH suitable for devel- 

 opment. Enough moist sand should be placed in the jar prior to 

 pupation to allow the maggots to burrow in. 



Patton, in India, found it necessary to wrap the meat in several 

 layers of paper, or to place it in a paper bag. in order to avoid con- 

 tamination from outside. When so treated, the mature larvae will 

 attempt to escape, but if fresh paper is added and the whole carefully 

 tied on, they will pupate within the bag. Care should be taken lest 

 the bag become soaked with the fluid of the decaying meat, in which 



"Melvin, R., and Bushland, R. C. a method of rearing cochliomyia Ameri- 

 cana c. and p., on artificial media. U. S. Bur. Ent. and Plant Quar. ET-SS. 

 2 pp. 1036. [Processed.] 



