THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE PUPARIA OF MANY SPECIES OF FLIES BECOME FIXED TO A SUBSTRATE

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Abstract
The puparia of many flies become fixed to a substrate by means of a secretion which accumulates in the lumen of the salivary glands towards the end of the larval period and is expelled immediately before the formation of the puparium is completed. The process of fixation is descr. for Drosophila melanogaster and Phormia regina. During the formation of the puparium, when the pupal contraction is almost finished, a liquid secretion flows out of the mouth and is, by movements of the anterior tip of the body, distr. over the anterior section of the ventral surface. This secretion hardens within a few sec. Changes in size and appearance of the salivary glands of Phormia during accumulation of the secretion and after its elimination are descr. The process of secretion in the glands of Drosophila has been descr. before by other authors, but its true function has never been recognized.