MITES, 



TICKS, AND 



OTHER ACARI. 



505 



served in the cages of singing birds. That they feed upon the bird is 

 shown by their digestive organs being full of blood. They harbor in 

 the recesses of the cage and the perches, particularly those made of 

 hollow caue, and sally out at night to settle on the sleeping bird. 



Fig. 4.— Dermantssus avium. 



Fig. 5.— Tybogltphus siro. 



Scrupulous cleanliness should be exercised to prevent and remove 

 them. Several members of this family are parasitic on cats. One 

 species is found on dead bodies. A case has been cited where one 

 was observed on the brain of a dead soldier, which had just been 

 opened. Although the observer thought that the mite had been domi- 

 ciled there, and upon the strength of this case the statement is often 

 made that they are sometimes found in the brain, it is probable that 

 the mite was in some way conveyed to the brain after it had been 

 opened. 



The Ixodes^ or true ticks, are known by the tough, leathery skin 

 of their abdomen and legs, their fastening on warm-blooded animals, 

 and sucking their blood, for which they have a special mouth-piece. 

 The body of the female is capable of great distention as she gorges. 

 Their habit is lierbivorous at first, for it is from the herbage that they 

 find their way to the creatui'es on which they fix. They mount to the 

 summit of blades of grass, or tips of leaves, and, holding on by their 

 forelegs only, stretch the other three pairs out so as to fasten on any 

 animal that comes in their way. Once settled, they plunge their pro- 

 boscides into the skin, and suck the blood until their flat bodies be- 

 come of a globular form, varying from the size of a number-eight shot 

 to that of a bean. Tlie process of filling is slow, sometimes taking 

 days. Little irritation is felt, but the proboscis is liable to be broken 

 off and remain in the wound, when serious sores are formed. Care 

 should be used in taking them off; a little tobacco-juice will generally 

 make them let go. Dogs after running in the woods often bring home 

 quantities of them, and they may come to be permanently located in 

 the dog-kennels. The common cattle-tick of the West is very annov- 

 ing to horned cattle. Various troublesome species abound in the 



VOL. XIT. — 33 



