406 C. H. TURNER 



DISEASE SPREADING ACTIVITIES 



Today the search for insect spreaders of disease has proven 

 such a fruitful field that many are attracted thereto and each 

 year sees a number of papers published on the subject. This 

 year such papers have been published by E. E. Austen (3), 

 Bishopp and King (12), Bloclock and Warrington (13), Brues 

 (18), Hadwen (53), Jennings and King (64a), Knab (66), Mitz- 

 main (73, 74, 74a, 75), Niewenglowski (80), Sawyer and Herms 

 (90), Townsend (100-103) and Winslow (123). Most of these 

 papers treat of flies and mosquitoes. To the physician these 

 papers are of great value; to the student of behavior they are 

 slightly interesting; to the casual reader uninteresting, for they 

 have long learned to look upon flies and mosquitoes with dread 

 and they are not concerned about the special work of each 

 species. However, a paper by Wheeler (121) should interest all, 

 for he points to an unexpected source of danger. He describes 

 a few of the habits of certain stingless bees of Central America. 

 Buckets containing oil for destroying mosquitoes were common. 

 One species of bee {Trigona pallida Lat) was seen collecting oil 

 from the rims of these buckets and using it in making the ceru- 

 men out of which it constructed its honey-pots. Another spe- 

 cies (T. rujicrus corvina Ckll.) was noticed collecting the malod- 

 orous liquid from the insides of the garbage barrels of the cre- 

 matory. A third species ( T. bipunctata wheeleri Ckll.) used human 

 excrement in manufacturing its cerumen. Evidently, in eating 

 the honey collected by these wild bees, one runs a great risk of 

 contracting typhoid fever and other diseases. 



MISCELLANEOUS INSTINCTS 



In addition to articles mentioned elsewhere, papers on the 

 behavior of the arachnids have been published by Popovivi (84) 

 and Weimar (115); on the habits of the diptera by Burrell (19), 

 Fiske (41), Guyenot (52) and Mitzmain (73) ; on the habits of 

 Collembola by Collinge (29) ; on the behavior of the Hemiptera 

 by Herrick (58) and Williams (122) ; on the habits of the Hymen- 

 optera by Brauns (14) and Cros (31) ; on the habits of the Lepid- 

 optera by Bird (10), Champion (22), Chapman (23), Frohawk 

 (44), Strand (98) and Stauder (96); on the habits of the Orth- 

 optera by Meijere (72). 



Comstock (30) discusses the formation and uses of the silk of 

 spiders. 



