338 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan 



until the ninth. A female which takes up her position alone de- 

 velops little, and is almost sure to let go within a week aiid renew 

 her search for an eligible male. An uumated male may also relax 

 his hold and search for a mate, but this does not appear to be a 

 common habit, and in such cases as it has been noticed the male 

 settled down near a lone female and left her to change her position 

 to effect the match he evidently desired. The duration of a male's 

 life on the host has still to be determined, but many specimens now 

 on cattle under observation have been attached already over five 

 weeks. During its stay it may have several successive mates. 

 Sometimes it turns or is pulled about so as to embrace a second 

 before the first has fallen, and a third has been observed to closely 

 follow a second. 



The period which clauses between the dropping of the distended 

 female and the beginning at ovipositiou has varied in instances ob- 

 served from two to ten weeks. Ovipositiou has extended from three 

 to nine weeks and incubation from eleven weeks to six mouths. 

 Under ordinary conditions it is estimated that the entire round of 

 life normally occupies at least a twelvemonth. Larval ticks 

 hatched six mouths ago are still alive. The hungry nymphs have 

 less vitality and few have survived thirteen weeks, although 

 the majority not utilized in tracing the life history survived full 

 three mouths. The waiting adult ticks seem to become exhausted 

 in a shorter time, but those kept did not begin to die oft" until the 

 tenth week. The different stages have been kept the periods men- 

 tioned, principally at the office or in living rooms. The vitality of 

 all has no doubt been severely tested by frequent disturbances and 

 by being carried on long train and cart journeys. The larvas have 

 been kept in a cork-stoppered bottle, the nymphs in a glass-topped 

 jar, and the adults in glass-topped p isteboard boxes. No moisture 

 or anything from which nourishment could be derived has been 

 given them . 



The larvae when on the host naturally gorge themselves with 

 blood, but many specimens reared evidenced by their cream or pink 

 body color that they had drawn colorless fluids wholly or in part. 

 When distended the larvte measure 2mm. in length. The nymphs 

 reared were very uniform in their color; when distended fully 

 they measure 5mm. to 6mm. in length, but exceptional individuals 

 drop when ev^u less than 4mm. A critical examination may show 

 sexual differences in this stage but a superficial one; all that has 

 thus far been made shows none at all. The adults measure from 

 4mm. to 6mm. in length when they emerge from the uymphal skin. 

 The male does not increase perceptibly in length or breadth during 

 its stay on the host. The female generally increases to at least 

 20mm in length, and individuals measuring 25mm. long, 19mm. 

 wide and 18mm. thick are not uncommon. These details are in- 



