United States or British Virgin Islands ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The Bluebottle carefully refrains from laying her eggs upon it and the Flesh-fly from bringing forth her offspring, both of them knowing that their new-born young are incapable of piercing the obstacle. Paper is equally successful in our strife against the Moths, those plagues of our furs and clothes.
Other instances of the mistaken application of what has been termed instinct may be observed in flies in the night, who mistaking a candle for day-light, approach and perish in the flame. So the putrid smell of the stapelia, or carrion-flower, allures the large flesh-fly to deposit its young worms on its beautiful petals, which perish there for want of nourishment.
Any of them may lay their eggs in wounds on man or animals with the same serious results. The flesh-fly instead of laying eggs deposits the living larvæ upon meat wherever it is accessible, and as these develop with astonishing rapidity they are able to consume large quantities of flesh in a remarkably short time.
But the poet you have quoted affords strains fitter for a dissolute court than for a convent." "I might retort on your Theodore Beza," said the Sub-Prior, smiling; "but I hate the judgment that, like the flesh-fly, skims over whatever is sound, to detect and settle upon some spot which is tainted. But to the purpose. If I conduct thee or send thee a prisoner to St.
We may protect ourselves against the Bluebottle, who is not much inclined to lay her eggs at a distance from the meat; but there is still the Flesh-fly, who is more venturesome and goes more briskly to work and who will slip the grubs through a hole in the meshes and drop them inside the safe.
This foresight would be in agreement with the rules which order maternal instinct according to future needs. But, when the fall does not exceed a certain depth, the budding worms of the Flesh-fly are dropped without a qualm, as all our experiments show. This principle has a practical application which is not without its value in matters of domestic economy.
Can the sense of smell measure the distance and judge whether it be acceptable or not? Perhaps. The fact remains that, despite the attraction of the scent, the Flesh-fly does not expose her worms to disproportionate falls. Can she know beforehand that, when the chrysalids break, her winged family, knocking with a sudden flight against the sides of a tall chimney, will be unable to get out?
From time to time the Bluebottle and the Flesh-fly perch on the trellis-work, make a short investigation and then decamp. Throughout the summer season, for three whole months, the apparatus remains where it is, without result: never a worm. What is the reason? Does the stench of the meat not spread, coming from that depth?
If they fall on the meat, well and good; if they fall elsewhere, they can reach the morsel by crawling. This confidence in the unknown factor of the precipice, with no indication but that of smell, deserves fuller investigation. From what height will the Flesh-fly dare to let her children drop? I top the test-tube with another tube, the width of the neck of a claret-bottle.
The trellised dome protects the contents even less than does the meat-safe. The Flesh-fly takes no heed of it. She can drop her worms through the meshes on the covered joint. Then what are we to do? Nothing could be simpler. We need only wrap the birds which we wish to preserve Thrushes, Partridges, Snipe and so on in separate paper envelopes; and the same with our beef and mutton.
Word Of The Day