ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY ENTOMOLOGY. 255 



tbeir natural host; only 2 fed. Twenty-four hours later but 1 fed. On the third 

 day 4 of the S living tieas in 3 of the tubes fed well. On the sixth day only 12 

 of the 30 fleas were alive; none of these fed. 



" In the second experiment 5 female fleas {C, acutiis) were applied to the arm 

 4 days after they had been taken from the squirrel ; nouo fed. Seven days 

 later, 11 days after being collected, 1 flea was alive, and it fed vigorously. 



" lu the third experiment 4 female specimens of Hoplopsiijlliis anomaJus 

 were taken from a squirrel. All of these fed well on the fourth day after they 

 were collected. 



" These experiments prove that the common fleas of the ground squirrels in 

 the vicinity of San Francisco will bite man under the experimental conditions 

 noted. Whether man is actually infected from squirrels through their fleas is 

 a matter that remains to be determined. The Indian Plague Commission be- 

 lieved that infection from the rat flea was probably through dejecta from the 

 flea. In our experiments it was noted that eveu during the most prolonged 

 feeding the fleas never ejected blood or feces from the anus." 



The transmission of Trypanosoma lewisi by fl.eas and lice, G. H. F. Nut- 

 tall {Parasitology, 1 (1908), No. .',, pp. 296-301; Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc, 

 15 (1908), No. 1, p. 53). — Experiments are here recorded which show that the 

 two fleas, C'eratopliyllus fascial us and Ctcnopthalmus (TyphlopsyUa) agyrtes, 

 and the louse, Hwmatopinus spinulosus, transmit T. lexoisi from rat to rat. 

 The ease with which infection took place through the agency of fleas suggests 

 that they are probably the chief transmitters of the trypanosomes. In the flrst 

 experiment with lice, 30 to 60 transmitted the trypanosome from diseased to 

 healthy rats, while in the second experiment 14 lice failed to do so. No signs 

 of any development of the trypanosome were observed in the bodies of the lice. 



The author concludes that " since 3 distinct kinds of blood-sucking insects 

 are capable of transmitting T. leicisi it appears doubtful that this flagellate 

 is a parasite of the invertebrate 'host' in the sense claimed by Prowazek and 

 other investigators." 



A critical review of the relation of blood-sucking' invertebrates to the life 

 cycles of the trypanosomes of vertebrates, with a note on the occurrence of a 

 species of Crithidia, C. ctenopthalmi, in the alimentary tract of Ctenop- 

 thalmus agyrtes, W. S. Fatton and C. Strickland {Parasitology, 1 {1908), 

 Xo. .'t, pp. 322~3.'i6, figs. 12). — Following this critical review, the author describes 

 Crithidia ctenopthalmi, a new species found infecting the alimentary tract of a 

 flea {Ctenopthalmus agyrtes). Fifteen species are placed by the author in the 

 genus Crithidia. 



Crocodiles and tsetse fl.ies, E. A. Minchin {Nature [London], 79 {1909), 

 No. 2051, p. -'i58). — The author calls attention to the fact that while crocodiles 

 may serve as hosts for trypanosomes there is no evidence whatever that they 

 serve as an alternate host of Trypanosoma gambiense and that it is improbable 

 that any reptile should play such a part. Reports by the press that the croco- 

 dile serves as such host for the causative agent of sleeping sickness appear to 

 be due to a misinterpretation of Koch's report, in which he mentioned the find- 

 ing of a trypanosome (not T. gambiense) in, and observing Glossina palpalis 

 feed upon, the blood of this reptile. 



Glossina palpalis {Sleeping i^ickness Bur. [London] Bui. 3, pp. 89-ltS, 

 pi. 1). — This is a sunmiary of our knowledge of the life history, habits, enemies, 

 and distribution of G. palpalis. The projthylaxis of sleeping sickness is also 

 considered and a list is given of the papers consulted. 



Entomological technique, M. Lanoeron {Arch. Par., 12 {1908), No. t, pp. 

 15.'i-159, figs. 5). — Directions are given for the dissection of the digestive tube 

 and the salivary glands of mosquitoes. 



3406— Xo. 3—09 5 



