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378 Annals Entomological Society of America [Vol. XII, 



They were similar in appearance to the immature larvae of 

 Phormia azurea Fallen, but showed no blood in their intestines. 

 I tried to rear these three larvas, but all three died before 

 pupating. The young goldfinch completely recovered from 

 the rather severe operation and is still living (March, 1919). 



The study of birds' nests from the viewpoint of the entomolo- 

 gist and parasitologist seems thus far to have been rather 

 neglected. While examining Cliff Swallow nests below the 

 eaves of a two-story building on the campus of the University 

 of Washington, I found them so thickly infested by bed bugs^ 

 that I preferred to leave the remaining nests alone. Another 

 blood-sucking insect that seems to use birds' nests as a favorable 

 breeding place is the flea. I had encountered numerous flea 

 larvae in birds' nests near Berkeley, California, the preceding 

 summer (1917), but when I saw the almost incredi^able multi- 

 tude of flea larvae contained in a single sparrow nest which 

 was taken from a box near the top of a high telephone pole at 

 Seattle, I was amazed. In addition to the parasites which I 

 have spoken of as inhabiting birds' nests, two or three others 

 were mentioned in one of my recent papers,^ and this number 

 will undoubtedly be increased. . These facts make it evident 

 that birds' nests offer a fruitful field of investigation for the 

 professional parasitologist. 



' Very probably Oecactis (Acanthia) hinindinis Jen., a species closely related to 

 the common bed bug, Cimex {Acanthia) lectularia Linnaeus, but more slender than 

 the latter. 



8 Cf. The Condor, Vol. XXI, pp. 35-36. 



