416 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



eggs, like those of the Pediculidae, are glued to the hairs or 

 feathers of the host, and open with a circular cap at the free end. 

 The larvae, however, do not so closely resemble the adult insect, 

 are less flattened, shorter in proportion, and without so hardened 

 an integument. The species are numerous, and a number infest 

 domestic animals and fowls, such as horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, 

 cats, chickens, pigeons, and ducks. They are all strictly para 

 sitic, but not so entirely dependent on their hosts as the true lice, 

 since they do not suck blood, but live on the hair, feathers, or 

 epidermal scales. 



ARACH\ T OIDEA. Among the Arachnids the parasitic species 

 are confined to the two groups popularly known as Ticks and 

 Mites, the species of the former group being parasitic throughout 

 nearly their whole existence, while the majority of the forms of 

 the latter have normally a free-living stage, manv of them 

 being exclusively plant-feeders and the majority of the parasitic 

 species being confined to a single family, Sarcoptidae. 



The Ticks, according to the latest classification, may be inclu 

 ded under the sub-order Cynorhaastea, and include five families, 

 the commonest species belonging to the typical family Ixodidae. 

 It is hardly necessary to consider the morphological characters 

 of the group further than to state that the toughened exo-skeleton, 

 the flattened form, and the modified mouth-parts are admirably 

 adapted for the parasitic life. The rostrum is of elongate form, 

 and includes, as piercing organs, modified mandibles and max- 

 illaB. The intricate structure of these parts has been admirably 

 described by Dr. Marx in his annual address, published upon 

 pages 271-287 of the current volume of our Proceedings. The 

 species are, many of them, of cosmopolitan distribution, and in 

 fest many domestic animals. The species are not so closely con 

 fined to a single host as is the case with the true lice and bird-lice, 

 and while there are no specific Ixodid parasites of the human ani 

 mal, a number of species will attach themselves to man when an 

 opportunity offers. The most noted of these is Argas persicus, 

 which belongs to the Mediterranean fauna, and which produces 

 serious inflammation by its bite, though developing normally on 

 pigeons. The vitality of the species is truly remarkable, as I 

 have had one confined without food for nearly three years, during 

 which period it molted some eight or ten times. Argas 



