115 



the tap fitted to the bottom of the dirt catcher, this is also fitted 

 with a syphon so that in case of neglect to draw off the accumu- 

 lated dirt through the tap, the syphon will operate automatically 

 and empty the dirt catcher, and any water it contains, down 

 to the level of the exit pipe for water from the cone into the 

 tank. 



Bisnopp (F. C). The Fowl Tick. — U.S. Dept. Agric, Bureau of 

 Entomology, Circ. no. 170, 31st March 1913, 14 pp., 5 figs. 



The fowl tick, ' blue bug,' ' bloodsucker ' or ' tampan ' (Argas 

 miniatus, Koch) is a widely disseminated species, being an 

 important enemy of poultry in Eoumania, S. Russia, Persia, 

 India, JN". and S. Africa, Australia, Brazil, British Guiana, 

 Panama, West Indies, Mexico, and U.S.A. In the last-named 

 country it is a serious pest, causing an annual loss of many 

 thousands of dollars, and occurs in greatest abundance in the 

 warm portions of the arid and semi-arid region, i.e., Western 

 Texas, southern JN'ew Mexico and Arizona, and Western California. 

 It has also been reported from Florida and Iowa, but it will 

 probably never become a pest of continuous importance in the 

 States east of Texas on account of their humid climates. 



Although the chicken is the host most frequently attacked, 

 Argas miniatus also infests pigeons, ducks, geese, turkeys, 

 ostriches and canaries. It has been reported as occurring occa- 

 sionally on cattle and jack rabbits, but there are no authentic 

 reports of its attacking man in the U.S.A. It may cause death 

 in poultry either directly through ' tick worry ' or indirectly by 

 conveying spirochetosis. The poultry farmer sustains further 

 losses through the pest lowering the vitality of the fowl, so as to 

 make the latter more susceptible to disease, also by its greatly 

 ireducing egg-production, disturbing sitting hens and stunting the 

 growth of chickens. 



The eggs of Argas miniatus hatch in from 10 to 100 days. 

 The larvae, or seed ticks, attach "themselves to a fowl, feed from 

 3^ to 10 days and then drop off, mainly at night, and secrete 

 themselves in protected places. In from 4 to 7 days the larva 

 moults and the eight-legged nymphs again attach themselves to a 

 host, this time engorging themselves within a few hours, and 

 again drop off and secrete themselves at night. This process may 

 be repeated seven times, and oviposition occurs soon after mating, 

 an average of 537 eggs being deposited by each female tick. It is 

 possible for the tick to complete its life-cycle in about 40 days, 

 but the number of generations annually has not been determined, 

 though there may be about five in the southern area of its 

 distribution. 



The tick has remarkably few natural enemies; the little black 

 ant (Monomorkivi minutum) and some of the house-inhabiting 

 spiders destroy eggs and larvae, and rats and mice are also con- 

 cerned in its destruction. Chickens eat the tick with avidity, 

 but the latter is greatly protected by its habits of night-feeding 

 and hiding in cracks during the day. As regards artificial 



