The House Fly 
3 
objectionable relative is most catholic in 
his travelling propensities. 
A third species, commonly known as the 
cluster fly (“ Pollenia rudis ”), frequently 
pays us a call, more particularly towards 
the close of the year. It is a little larger 
than the house fly, with a dark coloured, 
smooth abdomen and a sprinkling of yellow- 
ish hairs. It is not so active as the house 
fly, and towards winter becomes very 
sluggish in its movements. At such times 
it may be readily picked up, and is very 
subject to a fungus disease common among 
flies, and is not infrequently seen dead upon 
the window panes. 
There is again the “ Muscina stabulans,” 
a species of stable fly, and various types of 
flies which possess metallic colouring of 
green or blue, the greatest of which in 
point of view of size and probably of 
frequency in visiting us, is the “ Calliphora 
erythrocephala,” or blow fly, which has a 
number of pet names with us such as the 
bottle fly or the meat fly, applied to it 
from its tendency to breed in all manner 
of decaying animal matter. In fact, few 
people except entomologists have any idea 
