HABITS OF TWO PARASITES OF BLOW-FLIES. 



209 



Ovipositicn. — Females do not begin ovipositing until a clay or 

 SO after emergence, and irrespective of whether they have mated 

 or not ; a few ha.ve been observed trying to oviposit before 

 voiding the meconium. 



The ovaries are large and well filled with eggs. A dissection 

 of the ovaries of 12 females ga.ve an average of 366 eggs per 

 female. The greatest number counted in a single female was 416. 

 Graham-Smith (4) records a female witli ovaries containing 

 "at least 549 eggs." Table IT. gives the details of the count of 

 the contents of individual ovaries: — 



Table II. — Contents of Ovaries of 1 2 females. 



Females. | 



No. 

 1. 



No. 

 2. 



No. 

 3. 



No. 

 4. 



No. 

 5. 



No. 

 6. 



No. 

 7. 



No. 

 8. 



No. 

 9. 



No. 

 10. 



No. 

 11. 



No. 

 12. 



Total. 



Average. 



No. of 

 eggs. ) 



412 



375 



408 



368 



352 



328 



363 



416 



362 



325 



338 



347 



4394 



366-16 



Oviposition takes place in the larva of the blow- fly (text-fig. 11); 

 half- to full-grown larvae are usually selected. In the cage the 



Text-figui-e 11. 



Female A. manducator ovipositing in larva of FJiormia grccnJandica. 

 Greatly magnified. Original. 



chemotropic effect of carrion was — when the atmosphere was not 

 cliarged with the odour — almost instantaneous upon the females • 

 they became violently agitated, swaying their antennae, and then 

 might proceed to clean themselves, particularly the antennie 

 and the abdomen ventrally in the region of the ovipositor, and fly 

 to the carrion, or reverse the procedure and fly over and around 

 the receptacle containing it and the larvae, and then alightino- near 

 by, go through the cleaning process. It is, of course, obvious 



