Further reports (no. 6) on flies as carriers of infection.

Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Further reports (no. 6) on flies as carriers of infection. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/54 page 10
    Further Reports (No. 6) on Flies as Carriers of Infection 1. Empusa Muscat and the Extermination of the House-fly : by Dr. Gussow. 2. Hibernation of House-flies (Preliminary Note): by Dr. Copeman. 3. Further experiments on the Range of Flight of Musca domestica, by Prof. Nuttall, Mr. Merriman and Dr. Hindle. 4. Note on the Colour-preference of Flies: by Dr. Hindle. 5. Further Observations on Non-lactose Fermenting Bacilli in Flies, and the Sources from which they are derived; with special reference to Morgan’s bacillus : by Dr. Graham Smith. 1. EMPUSA MU SC AE AND THE EXTERMINATION OE THE HOUSE-FLY. By H. T. Gussow, Dominion Botanist, Department of Agri- culture, Ottawa. Since it lias become generally recognised within recent years that the common house-fly (Musca domestica) is a potential source of danger to the public health as a carrier of pathogenic micro- organisms, the question of an effectual and practical method of exterminating, or at least reducing the prevalence of this insect during the summer and autumn months has naturally attracted considerable attention. As a means towards the solution of this problem detailed study of the natural enemies of the fly, and more especially of the fly fungus Empusa muscce appeared likely to prove serviceable. The parasitism of this fungus is well established, and for a considerable number of years this fungus, as one of the commonest entomogenous species, has formed the subject of careful investigation from the mycological point of view. Unfortunately, however, the com- plete biological development has not yet been observed, and the gaps in our knowledge became particularly prominent when it was sought to employ this fungus as the means of causing an epidemic among flies, and thus to achieve their extermination. The use of Empusa muscat for this purpose seems reasonable, since it is well known that under normal conditions it destroys flies in large numbers, every autumn; and that it is an easy matter, experi- mentally, to spread the disease among flies in captivity. It is quite another question to determine whether there ensues a spread- ing of the disease among other flies of the same kind when Empitsa-miected flies are afterwards liberated; partly for the reason that it is impossible to say that the experimental flies, while still active, are really infected, and partly because the experiments are necessarily confined to a brief period in autumn, when flies
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