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BULLETIN OF THE 
No. 14 
Contribution from the Bureau of Entomology, L. 0. Howard, Chief 
February 28, 1914. 
(PROFESSIONAL PAPER.) 
THE MIGRATORY HABIT OF HOUSEFLY LARVAE AS INDICAT- 
ING A FAVORABLE REMEDIAL MEASURE. AN ACCOUNT OF 
PROGRESS. 
By Robert H. Hutchison, 
Scientific Assistant. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Ill the proceedings of the third meeting of the General Malarial 
Committee held at Madras in November, 1912, there is given a 
summary of a paper on "Insect Psychology " by Prof. L. M. Howlett. 
From his experiments with fruit flies, the stable fly, and mosquitoes 
he comes to the conclusion that "we must regard insects not as 
intelligent beings consciously shaping a path through life, but as 
being in a sort of active hypnotic trance." Also, that "once we 
discover the stimuli or particular conditions which determine a 
mosquito's actions we hold the key to the position, since we can 
then apply our knowledge to the mosquito's undoing." The second 
statement might have been made as general and inclusive as the 
first. One often hears expressed a general proposition to the effect 
that the problem of the control of any insect is very largely a prob- 
lem of its behavior. If its habits are known, some means of control 
are usually not far to seek. Thus in the warfare against the common 
housefly there are two important lines of attack based on a knowledge 
of the habits of the adults. In the first place, advantage is taken 
of their feeding and drinking habits in the use of such things as 
sour milk, formalin and milk, beer and sugar, the fly poisons, etc., 
as bait for traps or as poisons. Secondly, a knowledge of the egg- 
laying habits of the female leads to the use of covered fly-tight 
receptacles for manure, garbage, or other fermenting material. 
Both of these methods are based on a knowledge of the habits of 
the adults. The question now presents itself, Is there any phase 
of the behavior of the larvae which may afford a line of attack ? Do 
they have any characteristic habit of which advantage may be taken 
in attempts to destroy them ? 
