144 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Nov. 



by a very disagreable parasite closely allied to the obnoxious 

 bed bug, in fact many persons still believe that these insects are 

 identical, and, as a result, condemn the swallows for spreading 

 the true bed bug throughout the country. Needless to say, how- 

 ever, this is not the case, for though the unsavoury odour is 

 identical a casual examination will convince any observant 

 person of the difference between the two insects. 



The colonies referred to above proved no exception to the 

 general rule, in fact the nests inside and outside were simply 

 swarming with this bug (JEciacus hirundinis), as were also the 

 cliffs below the nests and for several feet on either side of them, 

 while every crack and cranny was full of the disgusting insects 

 in all stages of growth; many were so inflated with blood as to 

 appear quite red. There was, also, an almost incessant shower 

 of the bugs falling upon the earth beneath, and during the short 

 time I spent in examining and collecting a few of the creatures, 

 fully a dozen dropped upon my hat and clothes, so that I was 

 glad to discard them and have a dip in the river. Afterwards I 

 tried to entice a couple to bite me, but in vain, showing that they 

 evidently preferred to confine themselves to the feathered tribe. 



To me it seems remarkable that the young birds managed to 

 survive at all. While the substance sucked from the parents 

 during the brooding period must be very great, yet, with the 

 exception of three partly fledged young found dead some twelve 

 feet away, which may have been victims, no evil effects were 

 observed. 



The colonies were undoubtedly old ones, as was indicated 

 by the broken nests partly built upon, and also by the great 

 quantity of refuse beneath. This is doubtless why the bugs were 

 present in such abundance. 



It has not been my good fortune to run across more than 

 about a dozen colonies of Cliff Swallows, but all these have 

 invariably been situated on cliffs or barns either facing the north 

 or east, so that they were sheltered from the sun during the 

 hottest part of the day. My experience with Bank Swallows is 

 that they always choose the north or eastern cliffs facing the sun. 

 Perhaps this is merely a coincidence, but be that as it may, 

 either the difference in habit or situation of nests seems to be 

 responsible for a' lack of bugs among the Bank Swallows, as I 

 could not discover any in their vicinity, while the insects were 

 quite active on and about the sheltered nests of the Cliff 

 Swallows during a greater portion of the afternoon. 



A species of Mciacus, probably identical with the Swallow 

 Bug, is sometimes found in poultry houses, and I have also 

 discovered them in a stump containing a pair of nesting Tree 

 Swallows. Barn Swallows, as is well known, are also much 



