Ernest Edward Austen, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 8… (1911)
“ It may confidently be asserted that, of insects which directly or indirectly affect the welfare of man, Diptera form the vast majority, and it is a moot point whether the good effected by many species in the rapid clearing away of animal and vegetable impurities, and in keeping other insect enemies in check, counterbalances the evil and annoyance wrought by a large section of the Order. ”
Ernest Edward Austen, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 8… (1911)
“ That Diptera of the type of the common house-fly are often in large measure responsible for the spread of such diseases as cholera and enteric fever is undeniable, and as regards blood-sucking forms, in addition to those to which reference has already been made, it is sufficient to mention the vast army of pests constituted by the midges, sand-flies, horse-flies, &c., from the attacks of which domestic animals suffer equally with man, in addition to being frequently infested with the larvae of the bot and warble flies (Gastrophilus, Oestrus and Hypoderma) . ”
Ernest Edward Austen, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 8… (1911)
“ With the exception of a few species from the Solenhofen lithographic Oolite, fossil Diptera belong to the Tertiary Period, during which the members of this order attained a high degree of development. In amber, as proved by the deposits on the shores of the Baltic, the proverbial “fly” is more numerous than any other creatures, and with very few exceptions representatives of all the existing families have been found. ”
