Februar>', '13] HERRICK: DOMESTIC FOWL PARASITES 83 



surrounding the parasites raw and bloody. It is a question in this 

 case as to what these particular lice eat for food. 



It is generally conceded that Mallophaga live upon bits of feathers 

 and scales of the skin. Theobald speaks of them as constantly biting 

 at the skin and causing serious irritation. Other writers hold that 

 the constant movements of the lice cause irritation to the skin by rea- 

 son of the sharp claws, with which all the feet of these parasites ter- 

 minate. The presence of the lice sets up an irritation and pruritus 

 that eventually weaken the host and give a chance for various mala- 

 dies to get hold of the fowl. This seems to be especially true of chicks, 

 where, if the lice are abundant, growth is greatly checked, diarrhoea 

 seems to follow^ and a general weakened condition may result. 



The losses caused by the poultry lice are difficult to estimate but 

 the total must be large. Chickens, when badly infested, fail to make 

 anything like their normal growth. Theobald gives the results of 

 some experiments showing that chicks suffering from lice, at the end 

 of the year, weighed one pound Mss than those which had been kept 

 free from these pests, both having had exactly the same diet. 



The loss in egg production through the infestation of laying hens 

 must be enormous although there is no way of getting even an approxi- 

 mation. Brood-hens are often so irritated . by these parasites that 

 many of the failures in hatching must be attributed to the lice. Un- 

 doubtedly the presence of the lice, by weakening the general consti- 

 tutions of their hosts, predisposes the fowls to such diseases as gapes, 

 cholera, roup, etc., and thus contributes to a formidable indirect loss 

 and injury. 



List of Mallophaga on Domestic Fowls 



The species marked wnth a * have been collected and are thus known 

 to occur in this country. 



On the Hen {Gallus domesticusy 



*Menopon pallidum Xitzsch. *Goniocoles gigas Taschenberg. 



*Menopon biseriatum Piaget. *Goniocotes abdominalis Piaget. 



*Lipeurus heterographus Nitzsch. Probably a synonym of G. gigas. 



*Lipeurus variabilis Nitzsch. *Goniocotes hologaster Nitzsch. 



Goniodes dissimilis Nitzsch. Goniocoles burnettii Pack. 



Goniodes eynsfordii Theobald. ' Probablya synonym of L./idero^/rap/ius. 



On the Turkey {Meleagris gallopavo) 

 *Goniodes stylifer Nitzsch. Menopon stramineum Nitzsch. 



*Lipcurus polytrapezius Nitzsch. Probably a synonjmi of biseriatmn. 



* Menopon biseriatum Piaget. 



On the Goose {Anser domesticus) 

 Lipeurus anseris Gurlt. *Trinoton lituratum Nitzsch. 



*Lipeurus jejunus Nitzsch. *Docophorus iderodes Nitzsch. 



*Trinoton conspurcatum Nitzsch. 



