45 



hosts, too, are the same. It is more frequently a subject for complaint 

 with sheep, goat, and ostrich farmers than with cattle farmers, but 

 perhaps this is because it chances to be naturall}" more abundant in 

 the districts where the kinds of stock tirst mentioned are farmed. It 

 infests much the same situations on the hosts as the bont tick, and is 

 a frequent cause of lameness, particularly in sheep and goats. Males 

 predominate on a beast and remain a long time. The various periods 

 of the life cycle, so far as these are known, are all of shorter duration 

 than the corresponding periods with the bont. There is presumed to 

 be, ordinarily, one full generation in the course of a year. This 

 species, as an adult, appears to far oftener attach to man than other 

 South African Ixodida\ The larvse of the different species seem 

 about equally troublesome in this respect, and make the life of some 

 people in tick districts one of frequent misery. 



THK BLUE TICK. 



"Blue tick" is a convenient popular name for Hhipice^yhaJiis decol- 

 oratus Koch, but in reality the color of the replete female — the stage 

 in the life cycle most commonh" observed and the one suggesting the 

 name — is nearer slate-gray than blue. This species is a close ally to the 

 common cattle tick of America, Mhqncejyhcdus cmnulatus Say, or, as it 

 is more familiarly known, BoopTiilus hovis Riley. Prof. G. Neumann 

 has stated to the writer that in a forthcoming supplement to his mono- 

 graph on ticks he expects to class the South African species as a 

 variety of the American. There are, however, a number of constant 

 structural differences between the two ticks, as shown by Mr. Claude 

 Fuller in the Queensland Agricultural Journal for May, 1S99, pages 

 389-394. 



The blue tick is by far the most abundant of South African ticks. 

 It is found almost everywhere in Cape Colony, and sometimes occurs 

 in such numbers on cattle as to quite obscure large areas of the skin. 

 Few farmers, however, regard it as of realh'^ serious importance; and 

 while it doubtless severely taxes the strength of animals when con- 

 tinually abundant on them, it does not ordinarily appear to affect their 

 condition and certainl}^ does not worry them to near the extent that 

 the two larger species do. Occasionally, nevertheless, calves are 

 reported to be stunted in growth and even destroyed. Since this 

 species is probably the common agent for the transmission of South 

 African redwater (Texas fever) as is surmised, it may be of interest 

 to record that it occurs in abundance on cattle in many places to which 

 the disease has yet to spread. 



The changes from larva to nymph and from nymph to adult take 

 place on the host. Both stages feed three or four days and then 

 remain quiescent about the same length of time with the rostrum still 

 affixed to the flesh. The nymph settles near the larval skin and the 



