159 



especially attack man : C. hctularius, L., C. hemiptera, F. {rotund- 

 atus, Sign.), peculiar to hot climates, and Leptocimex (C.) boueti, 

 Brumpt, discovered by Bouet in French Guinea. A fourth species, 

 C. pipistrelli, Jenyns, has been found on bats in England, India and 

 South Africa. Three others attack birds, viz. : — C. hirundinis infesting 

 the nests of swallows ; C. columharws in dovecots and hen-houses ; 

 and C. inodorus in hen-houses. 



While man is undoubtedly the preferred host of the first three species, 

 it is nevertheless known that these bugs also attack the domestic 

 animals that live with man, such as rats, rabbits, guinea-pigs, calves, 

 dogs, cats and monkeys. The authors have found that C. lectularius 

 can exist and reproduce independently of man, and have observed 

 it establish and propagate itself far from any human habitation 

 in the laboratory kennels, where only small rodents or cats could 

 have supplied blood-meals. The possibility of its subsistence on cold- 

 blooded animals has been suspected, and while the authors have not 

 known this to occur spontaneously, they have easily and repeatedly 

 produced the conditions experimentally. Geckos {Tarentola tnauri- 

 tanica) have been largely experimented with, three successive feeds 

 at intervals of 15 to 20 days having been given to individuals of 

 C. lectularius, which have developed to the adult form and oviposited, 

 giving rise to larvae, without other food than the gecko. Chameleons, 

 sand-lizards {Gongylus ocellatus) and a frog {Rana temporaria) have 

 also furnished blood-meals. The only conditions necessary in nature 

 to induce these insects to bite reptiles is that the latter should be 

 at hand, and in hot climates the species dealt with are found inhabiting 

 the walls or verandahs of dwellings. 



On account of its domestic habits and the predilection shown for 

 it by certain species of Phlebotomus, the gecko has been suspected 

 of being a reservoir of the virus of Oriental Sore. The hypothesis that 

 PJdebotomus are the vectors has not as yet been confirmed and it 

 seems likely that bed-bugs may play this role. The fact that the 

 bugs more readily bite geckos when the temperature is high, and 

 that they first attack those parts of the host where the skin is 

 thinnest, would explain two peculiarities of cutaneous leishmaniasis, 

 namely, its seasonal incidence and its localisation in unprotected parts. 

 The wide choice of hosts by the bed-bug forms a contrast to the 

 strictly limited choice of fleas and lice. While these are carriers 

 of a virus that passes rapidly from man to man, the bed-bug must 

 be considered to be among those insects in which the virus seems 

 to be maintained without the presence of man, but nevertheless 

 in his vicinity and in relation with the local fauna, especially domestic 

 animals. 



^^ 



Chatton (E.) & Blanc (G.). Culture du Trypanosome du Gecko chez 

 la Punaise des Lits. [Culture of the Trypanosome of the Gecko 

 in the Bed- Bug.] — Bull. Soc. Path. Exot., Paris, xi, no. 5, 8th May 

 1918, pp. 387-390. 



It has been shown [see previous paper] that the bed-bug readily 

 bites reptiles and especially geckos. Experiments to determine 

 whether the bugs are able to carry any of the different haematozoa 

 that infect geckos showed that none of these, with the exception 



