296 Phylum Ar thro p oda 



air within the cage to meet the needs of the insects for some of them lived 

 as long as 25 days thus enclosed.* 



Order anoplura 



REARING HOG LICE ON MAN 



Laura Florence, N. Y. Homeopathic Medical College and Flower Hospital 



^"pHE hog louse, Haematopinus suis, is the largest of the lice affecting 

 JL domestic animals. It is suitable for experimental work, because 

 it is easily obtained and feeds readily on man. Its size and its habit of 

 taking hold of any slender object placed in front of it lessen the difficulty 

 of keeping it in confinement. 



On infested hogs, lice are readily found in the folds of the skin on the 

 neck and jowl, within and at the base of the ears, on the under side of 

 the legs, on the flanks, and in smaller numbers on the back, where they 

 crawl under the scales in order to come in contact with the new skin. 

 From these regions they may be collected with small forceps or with the 

 fingers and placed in any easily handled receptacle to be taken to the 

 laboratory. Without undue delay they should be transferred to small 

 vials, approximately 5 cm. x 1 cm., containing some hog bristles and 

 threads of gauze. Four to six lice should be placed in each vial. The 

 mouth of the vial should be closed by tying over it two layers of gauze 

 with a very thin layer of absorbent cotton between. These vials must 

 be worn continuously under the clothing, so that the lice may be kept 

 as near body temperature as possible. 



The captive lice are fed on the forearm, and should not be handled un- 

 necessarily. In the vial they will be found attached to the threads and 

 bristles. These should be withdrawn from the vial and placed on the 

 arm. The lice will then move to the skin and may feed at once or move 

 about more or less rapidly. The peculiar structure of the feet enables 

 them to grasp the hairs on the arm. After the insertion of the stylets the 

 insect holds itself in a more or less straight line and at an angle of 40 



♦Editor's Note: C. O. Eddy and W. H. Clarke (/. Econ. Ent. 23:704, 1930) report 

 life history studies carried on with the onion thrips by the use of i-gram homeopathic 

 vials, ?4 by 6 inch test tubes, absorbent cotton, insect-free seedling cotton leaves, and 

 water. The females were confined separately in the homeopathic vials and a section of 

 a fresh seedling cotton leaf placed with each of them every 24 hours. The used sections 

 of leaves were removed from the vials, wrapped individually in moist absorbent cotton, 

 and each placed in a sterile test tube. The open ends of both vials and test tubes were 

 closed with absorbent cotton plugs. The leaves in the test tubes were removed daily and 

 observed under a low power binocular microscope for emerged larvae. When a larva was 

 found, it was removed from the leaf with a small brush and transferred to a fresh leaf 

 in a small homeopathic vial where development was observed. Fresh leaves were supplied 

 to all larvae when needed. Vials and test tubes containing the thrips were inserted 

 slightly in the soil of soil tables in an out-door insectary. M.E.D. 



