CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF COMMON INSECTS 365 



it moults and this nymph (first stage) with 4 legs moults in about 

 24 hours forming the second stage nymph which moults into the adult. 



Control. — (a) Cleanliness and sunlight, as mites thrive best in 

 damp, dirty houses; (6) remove droppings and all old nesting material; 

 {c) clean and scrub or wash with water all the perches, roosts, nests, 

 floor and walls; {d) spray or paint these with a 5 per cent, cresol, crude 

 petroleum, or with 3 parts kerosene and i part crude carbolic acid, 

 or with kerosene emulsion. Two or three applications are necessary 

 at intervals of a few days. 



When houses are whitewashed 4 oz. crude carbolic acid should 

 be added to each gallon of whitewash. It is often advantageous 

 to scatter a mixture of three parts of dry slaked lime and one part sul- 

 phur with the doors and windows closed. 



Family Argasid^ 



Spinose Ear Tick {Ornithodoros megnini.). — Found attached to the 

 ears of domestic animals and jack rabbits. Occurs in the south- 

 western U. S. as far north as Nevada and Oregon and is often trouble- 

 some. Treated by an injection of a mixture of two parts pine tar and 

 one part cotton-seed oil into the ears. (Consult Farmers Bulletin 

 980, U. S. Dept. Ag.) 



Family Sarcoptid^ (Scab and Itch Mites) 



The Poultry Itch Mite {Sarcoptes mutans Robin) produces "scaly- 

 leg" of fowls, turkeys, etc. It may also attack the comb and beak. 

 The disease is contagious. The mites bore under the scales of the foot 

 and leg and burrow deeper and deeper into the tissue, setting up an 

 irritation, frequently a lameness, and sometimes causing the loss of 

 some of the toes. 



Control. — (i) Oil of carraway (i part to 5 parts white vaseline) rub- 

 bed into leg and foot every few days; (2) bathing in warm soapy water 

 and applying sulphur ointment or naphthaline mixed with 9 parts lard, 

 or 5 per cent, creolin or zenoleum, or vaseline and zinc ointment. 



Itch Mite of Man {Sarcoptes scabiei Latr.). — This pest burrows 

 under the skin where eggs are laid. In about a week the eggs hatch 

 and the young mites become mature in about 4 weeks. The lesions 



