MISC. PUBLICATION 631, U 



DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



CONTENTS— Continued 



The family Muscidae— Con. Page 

 The genus Synthesiomyia 



Brauer and Bergenstamm_ 123 

 The genus Fannia Robin- 



eau-Desvoidy 124 



The genus Hydrotaea Rob- 



ineau-Desvoidy 131 



The genus Peronia Robin- 



eau-Desvoidy 131 



The genus Stomoxys Geoff- 



roy 132 



The genus Muscina Robin- 



eau-Des voidy 133 



The genus Musca Linnaeus _ 138 



The family Tipulidae 142 



The family Psychodidae__ 142 



The genus Psychoda La- 



treille 142 



The family Sylvicolidae 144 



The genus Sylvicola H arris __ 145 



The family Stratiomyidae 146 



The genus Hermeiia La- 



treille 146 



The family Therevidae 148 



The genus Thereva Latreille_ 148 



Pago 



The family Syrphidae 148 



The genus Syrphus Fabri- 



cius 149 



The genus Tubifera Meigen. 149 

 The genus Ilelophilus 



Meigen 153 



The family Ephydridae 154 



The genus Teichomyza Mac- 

 quart 154 



The family Drosophilidae 155 



The genus Drosophila Fallen. 155 



The family Tylidae 157 



The family Piophilidae 158 



The genus Piophila Fallen__ 158 



The family Sepsidae 159 



The genus Sepsis Fallen 160 



The family Phoridae 160 



The genus Megaselia Ron- 



dani 161 



The family Larvaevoridae (Ta- 



chinidae) 163 



The genus Mintho Robineau_ 



Desvoidy 163 



Literature cited 164 



Index 173 



INTRODUCTION 



From the standpoint of medical entomology by far the most impor- 

 tant insects are the Diptera or two-winged flies. Many of these, such 

 as the haematophagous mosquitoes, the blackflies, the horseflies and 

 deer flies, and certain muscoids, are bloodsuckers, and in this role may 

 act as vectors of pathogenic organisms, either mechanically or through 

 cyclic transmission. A great many other species breed in carrion, 

 excrement, or other types of filth, from which they may carry patho- 

 gens to our food or drinking water, or directly to the human body. 

 Still others, almost exclusively nonbloodsuckers in the adult stage, 

 may attack the human body as larvae, thus producing the pathogenic 

 condition known as myiasis. 



The term "my[i]asis," proposed by Hope in 1840 (60, p. 258), is 

 now in general use to indicate the condition resulting from the inva- 

 sion of tissues or organs of man or animals by dipterous larvae. Some- 

 what earlier, Kirby and Spence (70, vol. 1, ed. 3, p. 100) had proposed 

 the name "scolechiasis" for such invasions by insect larvae in general. 

 Hope, however, proposed to limit that term to use in connection with 

 lepidopterous larvae, and suggested the new terms "my[i]asis" and 

 "canthariasis," the latter to refer to pathological conditions caused 

 by the larvae of Coleoptera. Patton (100, 102) extended the use 

 of the term myiasis to include all stages of Diptera on the ground 

 that eggs, pupae, and even adults may occasionally be found in the 

 human body. Since, however, it is the larva that is the active stage 

 in relation to myiasis, this extension of the term is unnecessary and 

 may be confusing. Attacks of bloodsucking maggots (of which only 

 one affects man), while not in the true sense myiasis, are considered 

 related phenomena and are therefore included briefly in this work, 

 but no consideration is given to bloodsucking: adults. 



