FLEAS. 129 



LlpeuQ'HS numidce Denny. 



This livid-yellow louse is said to occur on the guinea- 

 fowl. 



L'qwuras jKilyfraj^ezlus Nitzsch . 



The peculiar species is common wherever turkeys are 

 kept, and is easily detected, being large enough to be readily 

 seen, measuring from 3.0 to 3.5mm. in length. It has avery 

 elongated, fiat, and pointed bodj^ which is pale-yellowish, 

 with a dark margin. All the segments of the abdomen, with 

 the exception of the last, have a grajdsh-brown trapezoidal 

 spot on each side, whence the scientific name. This very 

 active insect prefers the wing-feathers. 



Menopon ijlivstomum Nitzsch. 



This parasite infests the peacock, and seems to be very 

 common. It is illustrated in fig. 108. 



Menopon numidce G. 

 This insect is found on guinea-fowls. 



H. FLEAS. 



( Siphonaptera PuUcidw) . 



These insects possess a laterally compressed body; the 

 thoracic segments are well separated; wings are missing but 

 represented by two pairs of short and stiff scales, that have 

 no or verj' little power of motion; feelers are very short, 

 composed of three flat and singularly lobed joints, which are 

 in most species closely folded away in a cavity behind the 

 eyes, while in some others they are exposed and erect. The 

 peculiar sucking mouth (fig. 109) is well adapted for piercing 

 the skin. The mandibles and labium form three slen- 

 der lancets; the blood is drawn up through the channels 

 or spaces betw^een them and the labial palpi and lower lip, 

 by means of a sucking stomach. The large posterior legs 

 are very powerful, enabling the fleas to leap with remark- 

 able agility enormous distances compared to their size. The 

 head is small; the eyes are shnple, and in some cases very 

 minute. The white and worm-like larvee are long and 



