THE INSECT WORLD. 



'55 



F"iG. 1 17. 



ing up rubbish of all kinds, or plowing it under. Where this is 

 done there will be no necessity for active treatment in summer. 

 They may be destroyed at that time, however, by the application 

 of the kerosene emulsion diluted ten times, or by the whale-oil 

 soap used at the rate of one pound in four gallons of water. 



Perhaps no insect is better known than the " bed-bug," Acan- 

 thia lectularia, which occurs, especially in hotels, throughout the 

 country. It is wingless, very much flattened, broadly oval in 

 shape, and red brown in color. It is 

 able to crawl into the narrowest crev- 

 ices, and no bedstead has yet been 

 made which does not aiTord it shelter. 

 It is nocturnal in habit, seeking its 

 prey at night and occasionally making 

 life miserable. Where a house be- 

 comes thoroughly infested, specimens 

 are found under baseboards, beneath 

 loose paper, in cracks in the plaster, 

 and in fact wherever there is an open- 

 ing large enough to insert the blade 

 of a thui knife. Thev multiply rapidly 

 and are able to do without food for a 

 considerable period. In houses that 



have been long abandoned, bed-bugs of all sizes may sometimes 

 be found, perfectly transparent as if they had been always with- 

 out food. It is probable, therefore, that they are able to subsist 

 upon some substance other than human blood. Where they are 

 accidentally introduced into a house and confined to beds, there 

 is nothing better for use than kerosene or gasoline. It should be 

 liberally applied in joints, crevices, and wherever there is the 

 least opening, so as to reach the bottom before the material soaks 

 into the wood. A single thorough application of this kind 

 usually proves successful, although it would be better to renew it 

 a week afterward, to reach forms that have hatched from eggs 

 since the previous application : for in my experience neither 

 kerosene nor gasoline destroys the eggs with certainty. Another 

 effective remedy is corrosive sublimate dissolved in alcohol, and 

 this has the advantage of being more lasting, remaining effective 

 for some time after it is applied. It is, however, exceedingly 



The bed-bug, Acatilltia lectularia. 



