215 



The action of anti-parasitic substances is very variable. Volatile 

 and very strong-smelling products, such as ethereal oils, seem to be 

 the most effective. Whether the action of oils and fatty substances 

 is due to their blocking the respiratory organs of the parasite is a 

 disputed point ; Bruderlein has demonstrated that the parasites, 

 when placed in liquid paraffin, do not die in less than five days. Males 

 have been found to be more resistant than females, and larvae more 

 so than adults. The eggs are very resistant, owing to their chitinous 

 covering The immobility produced by these substances is frequently 

 due not onlv to the toxic nature of the material used but also to its 

 temperature, which is generally lower than that of the environment 

 of the parasite on the ikin or in the ear of its host. A reduction of 

 the temperature in any more or less toxic medium will produce torpor 

 in the parasite, and in the case of very volatile liquids it is probably 

 the reduction of temperature brought about by quick evaporation 

 that causes torpor. Raising the temperature will then produce reani- 

 mation which lasts until the true toxic effect begins to cause a fresh 

 torpor The certainty of death can only be determined if return to 

 favourable conditions produces no reanimation. It was found^ by 

 Henry that the parasite could live^in and even feed upon groundnut 

 oil at a temperature of 86° to 90° F. 



The author records the results of experiments with various 

 substances. Creolin proved more effective than lysol, especially when 

 heated The most successful was a solution of one per cent, liquid 

 carbolic acid in glycerine ; this softens the crusts kills the parasites 

 and penetrates far into the auditory meatus, to the walls of which it 

 adheres A few drops should be put in the ear twice daily, the ear 

 being then cleaned with swabs of cotton wool. Otitis can be treated 

 with an alcohohc solution of three per cent, resorcm. 



Hoffmann (W. H.). Sobre la Mosca Chrysops costatus, Fabr., con 

 algunas Observaciones sobre la Importancia de las Moscas Chrysops 

 como Transmisoras de EnSermedades infecciosas.— Reprint from 

 Mem. Soc. Ciibana Hist. Nat. Felipe Poey, Habana, Ses.. 

 23rd February 1922, 3 pp., 1 fig. 

 This record of Chrvsops costata, F., attacking man in Cuba has 



already been noticed [R.A.E., B, ix, 212 ; x, 136]. This fly has only 



been observed in Havana in the cold winter months, it bites at all 



hours of day and night. 



Hoffmann (W. H.). Die ChrysopsJliegen und ihre Bedeutung fiir den 



Tropenartz. [Tabanids of the Genus Chrysops and their Iniport- 

 ance for the Medical Man in the Tropics.]— Arch. Schiffs- u. 1 rop.- 

 Hyg., Leipsic, xxvi, no. 8, August 1922, pp. 244-248, 1 fig. 



This paper deals with the part played by these Diptera in the 

 transmission of disease and records an attack by Chrysops costata, b. 

 [see above]. 



I^Ukzinowsky (E. T.). Das Tropeninstitut zu Moskau. [The Tropical 

 [Diseases] Institute in Moscow.]— .4 ;t//. Schiffs- u. Trop.-Hyg., 

 Leipsic, xxvi, no. 7, August 1922, pp. 205-208. 

 •\n account is given of the work planned for the Tropical Diseases 

 Institute opened on 1st September 1920 in Moscow. 



The entomological section under Dr. T. A. Nikolski will shortly 

 be started and will deal with blcod-sucking insects and their control. 



