SOME ANNOYING PESTS OF MAN 



321 



work their way down these tortuous canals until the blind 

 ends are reached, when the mites die. Banks says that 

 "they burrow beneath the skin and produce inflamed 

 spots." Other observers say that the mites first injure the 

 skin and then plunge their long piercing mouth parts into 

 the wound. Sometimes this wound is located near the 

 opening of a sweat pore and sometimes not. Evidently 

 the mite does not enter these pores as a habitual 

 practice. J. C. Bradley, 

 who has observed redbugs 

 rather carefully and who 

 placed his notes at my dis- 

 posal, says that they do not 

 burrow underneath the skin 

 but may enter the skin by a 

 hair follicle or sweat pore, 

 especially if disturbed. He 

 concludes that the irrita- 

 tion is caused by some 

 specific poison secreted by 

 the mite rather than by 

 any wounds that it makes. 

 At any rate, the mites 

 set up a severe irritation. On some persons this may 

 take place within a short time, while on others it may 

 not be felt until twelve to twenty-four hours after the 

 infection of the mites. Red blotches, from the size of a 

 nickel to that of a half-dollar, appear on the parts of 

 the body affected. Along with the appearance of the 

 blotches comes an intense itching sensation which, if 

 allayed momentarily by scratching, returns with renewed 

 intensity. Very often a slight fever accompanies the 



Fig. 110. 



Young of harvest mite. 

 (X 60.) 



