3 4 



Metalnikov (1920) carried out a number of experiments 

 to determine the susceptibility of the larvae of the "bee 

 moth to infection with Corynebacterium dlphtheriae , and 

 found them to he completely immune. However, according to 

 Huff (19^0), Chorine made a series of experiments and 

 found diphtheria toxin to he toxic for the caterpillars of 

 Galleria me 11 one 11a . He also was ahle to produce an 

 immunity in the larvae "by use of an "anatoxin. " 



The house fly has "been suggested as a possible vector 

 of diphtheria "bacilli. Graham-Smith (1910) made a series 

 of experiments which seemed to indicate that Corynebacter - 

 ium diphtheriae does not remain alive for more than a few 

 hours on the legs and wings of house flies, hut may live 

 for 2k hours or longer in the intestinal tract. He states 

 ( 1913 ) , "There is no evidence that under natural conditions 

 flies are concerned in the spread of this disease. . .hut, 

 under suitahle conditions, it is possible that the disease 

 may he occasionally conveyed "by them. " 



Longfellow (1913) cultivated the Westbrook type of 

 diphtheria "bacillus from the feces of roaches. 



Graham-Smith, G. S. 1910 Ohservations on the ways in 

 which artificially infected flies ( Musca domestica and 

 Calliphora erythrocephala ) carry and distrihute patho- 

 genic and other "bacteria. Reports to the Local Gov. Bd. 

 Public Health and Medical Subjects, No. 53, 3-1^8. 



Graham-Smith, G. ¥. 1913 Flies in relation to disease. 

 292 pp. University press, Cambridge. (See p. 186. ) 



Huff, Clay G. 19^0 Immunity in invert eh rates. Physiol. 

 Reviews, 20, 68-88. 



Longfellow, R. C. 1913 The common house roach as a car- 

 rier of disease. Am. J. Pud. Health, 3, 58-61. 



Metalnikov, S. 1920 Immunite de la chenille contre 

 divers microhes. Compt. rend. soc. hiol. , 83, 119-121. 



CORYNEBACTER 1 U M P A U R M E T A B LU M Steinhaus 



Insect concerned: The "bedbug, Cimex lectularius . 



While attempting to cultivate an intracellular "sym- 

 biote" from the ovaries and mycetome of the "bedbug, 

 Steinhaus (19^1) isolated a diphtheroid which he named 

 Corynehacterium paurometaholum . The cultivated organism 

 appeared very similar to the slender rod-shaped "bacterium 

 observed in the tissues of the insect. At first, efforts 

 to cultivate the organism from the tissue were unsuccess- 

 ful when routine hacteriologic media were used though it 



