426 HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



There are many instances of the occurrence of the 

 larvse of bot-flies, known as warbles, in man. The ox 

 bot-fly, or heel fly, Hypoderma lineata, occasionally deposits 

 its eggs in the flesh of man, where they hatch, but the larvae 

 do not seem to find conditions suitable to their develop- 

 ment and usually emerge before complete maturity. The 

 European ox bot-fly, H. bovis, now known to occur in this 

 country, attacks man rather more frequently, particularly 

 in Norway. 



There is in South America a bot-fly that deposits its 

 eggs so commonly beneath the skin of the natives that 

 it has been termed the bot-fly of man, (Estrus hominis. 

 There seems to be considerable doubt, however, regarding 

 the exact species. Moreover, this same fly also attacks 

 monkeys, dogs, and other mammals. Foreigners visit- 

 ing the localities infested by this fly are apt to be 

 attacked, especially when bathing. The presence of the 

 maggots beneath the skin does not seem to cause any great 

 uneasiness among the affected natives, although LeConte 

 says, " they produce a swelling having the appearance of an 

 ordinary boil in which at times is felt for a few seconds an 

 acute pain when the worm moves." Blanchard refers, in an 

 extended paper, to two species, Dermatobia noxialis and D. 

 cyaniventris, as affecting man throughout tropical America. 



The cat and dog fleas and the human fleas, with their 

 relation to disease, have been fully discussed in a former 

 chapter. The bites of these common fleas and their 

 annoyance to man are really very trifling compared with 

 the injuries of the sand flea, Rhynchoprion penetrans, 

 also known as the jigger, chigoe, chique, etc., of tropical 

 and subtropical America. This flea affects the lower 

 mammals as well as man. 



