Diptera 
33 
A species which very commonly attacks man is Conorhinus 
sanguisugus , the so-called “big bed-bug” of the south and southern 
United States. It is frequently found in houses and is known to 
inflict an exceedingly painful bite. As in the case of a number of 
other predaceous Hemiptera, the salivary glands of these forms are 
highly developed. The effect of the bite on their prey and, as Marlatt 
has pointed out, the constant and uniform character of the symptoms 
in nearly all cases of bites in man, clearly indicate that their saliva 
contains a specific substance. No satisfactory studies of the secre¬ 
tions have been made. On the other hand, Dr. Howard is doubt¬ 
less right in maintaining that the very serious results which some¬ 
times follow the bite are due to the introduction of extraneous poison 
germs. This is borne out by the symptoms of most of the cases 
cited in literature and also by the fact that treatment with corrosive 
sublimate, locally applied to the wound, has yielded favorable results. 
Other Hemiptera Reported as Poisonous to Man —A large number 
of other Hemiptera have been reported as attacking man. Of these, 
there are several species of Lygaeidas, Coreidae, and Capsidas. Of the 
latter, Lygns pratensis, the tarnished plant-bug, is reported by 
Professor Crosby as sucking blood. Orthotylus flavosparsus is another 
Capsid which has been implicated. Empoasca malt and Platymetopius 
acutus of the Jassidas have also been reported as having similar 
habits. 
Whenever the periodical cicada or “seventeen-year locust” be¬ 
comes abundant, the newspapers contain accounts of serious results 
from its bites. The senior author has made scores of attempts to 
induce this species to bite and only once successfully. At that 
time the bite was in no wise more severe than a pin-prick. A stu¬ 
dent in our department reports a similar experience. There is no 
case on record which bears evidence of being worthy of any credence, 
whatsoever. 
Under the heading of poisonous Hemiptera we might consider the 
bed-bugs and the lice. These will be discussed later, as parasites 
and as carriers of disease, and therefore need only be mentioned here. 
DIPTERA 
Several species of blood-sucking Diptera undoubtedly secrete a 
saliva possessing poisonous properties. Chief among these are the 
Culicidae, or mosquitoes, and the Simuliidas, or black-flies. As we 
shall consider these forms in detail under the heading of parasitic 
