N0.13G1. IIKVTSION OF AMERICAN SIPHONAPTERA— BAKER. 307 



Koloimti. In his Die Pui-iisittMi dcr Chii-optercii. Kolonati doscrihps 

 six spocios of Ct rat(>j>'<ijlhis 'A\\(\ one of PaU.r^ parusitic on bats, placiiij^ 

 tluMii ill tiic Diptcra uiidci- Latreille's ^roup Plithii-iomyia?. A sim- 

 ilar ac-couiit of tlu> bat tlcas was also published the same yeai- by the 

 same author in the Wiener Entomolooische Monatssehrift. 



In 1868 appeared Kolenati's epoch-marking Beitrage zur Kcnntnis 

 der Phthiriomyiarien. in Hora^ Soeieta^ Entomoloo-iciv Uossica". On 

 this \voik our modern classirteation of the Si|)honaptera is laroi'K' 

 based. It includes, besides the treatment of this group, also a mono- 

 graph of the parasitic flies of the families Xyctorilndn^ and Streblida'. 



Some of Kolenati's work is difHrult to decipher on account of the 

 very meager descriptions and the extremely ])oor illustrations pre- 

 sented. Fortunately, some of the specimens on which his work was 

 ])ased still exist in iSt. Petersburg, where they have been studied by 

 Dr. Wagner with very important results. Kolenati used eight gen- 

 eric names, of which we now apph" six to valid groups. For many 

 years this work remained the most complete S3'stematic account of the 

 group. 



Petween the years 1860 and 1880 but little was done on sA^stematic 

 Avork, collecting, and comparative studies. But during that period 

 there appeared several monumental anatomical papers which have done 

 much toward raising the standard of work in the group and dignifying 

 the stud}^ of these very remarkable but much despised insects. Nota- 

 ble among these are Karsten's study of SarcopsyUa penetrans., Landois' 

 anatomy of the dog ilea, and Berte's careful work on the antenna^ of 

 fleas. During this period also we first have careful studies of the habits 

 and development of fleas. 



In 1880 appeared the second epoch-marking monograph of the group 

 by 1 )r. Otto Taschenberg. This was intended to be a suuunary of (nery- 

 thing known on the group, together with a svstematic rearrangement 

 of the species, and with carefully drawn figures of each species. Dr. 

 Taschenlierg recognized 2 families and 5 genera, and lists 33 species, 

 most of which he considers valid. 



The period from 1880 to the present time has been one of great 

 activity in the study of this group, as was to be expected after the 

 work of Karsten, Landois, Berte, Kraepelin. and Taschenberg. 

 Besides numerous scattering papers, we have the very important 

 contributions,* l)()th anatomical and systematic, first of Wagner and 

 later of Rothschild. The results from these two authors represent 

 the highest grade of work yet don(> on the gi-ouj). and give promise of 

 as complete and scientific treatment as has been given any group t)f 

 animals. 



HABITS. 



An excellent sunnnary of the breeding habits of the cat and dog Ilea 

 has been given in liuUetin No. 4, u. s.. Division of Kntomology, l8!Mi. 



