47 



ularly is this remarkable fact true of goats. In an experiment which 

 involved the feeding of nearly a thousand adults on four ewes practi- 

 call}^ every specimen attached itself near the anus or vulva. The two 

 sexes are produced in nearly even numbers from a batch of eggs. 

 Each settles on a host without regard to the presence or absence of the 

 other; but after a few days of feeding, if females be at hand, the males 

 release their hold and seek mates. Unmated females cease to swell 

 after a few da3^s and remain less than half engorged until found by 

 males. Mated females swell very rapidly during the day prior to their 

 dropping, often quite doubling their dimensions. The dropping nor- 

 mally occurs on the sixth or seventh day. The females are then some- 

 what larger in all their measurements than the blue females. 



OTHER IXODID^E. 



Some species of ticks are said to be restricted to a single host or to 

 hosts genericallj^ allied, and on this accouut it may be of some interest 

 to record that Amhlyomma devium Koch, a tick often found on tor- 

 toises and snakes in Cape Colony, has been remo^'ed from an angora 

 goat. Two specimens only, one of each sex, w^ere obtained as engorged 

 nymphs. The determination of the species is b}^ Prof. G. Neumann, 

 to whom it may here be acknowledged I am indebted for affirmation 

 of the determination of all the species mentioned in these notes. 



Another observation worth record here has been made in regard to 

 Ixodes pilosKS Koch. The male of this species seeks the female and 

 establishes himself on her ventrum with his rostrum buried in what 

 appears to be her sexual orifice. If separated he seeks to resume the 

 position. Mr. E. J. Wheeler, of Almwick, England, has observed this 

 puzzling act in another species of Ixodes and believes it to be that of 

 copulation. Ixodes j^ilosu.^ is about the size of the blue tick. It has 

 been taken from cattle, horses, goats, and hogs. It leaves its host to 

 molt on both occasions. 



THE TAMPAN TICK. 



The •' tampan'' is an Argasid, Onitliodoros savignyi k.vAo\yA\\. Its 

 life cycle has not been traced, but among collected specimens there 

 appear to be at least four life stages; that is, one more than occurs in 

 the Ixodid ticks. The tampan is a most repulsive creature in appear- 

 ance, with an extremely tough, leather}^ skin and stout, curiously sculp- 

 tured legs. The sexes can be distinguished only by examining the 

 genitalia; at least no other certain way has been discovered. AYhen 

 fully engorged, the female measures up to half an inch in length by 

 almost as wide and half as thick. Horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and 

 man are commonly attacked by this tick, and scores of specimens lib- 

 erated near a confined barnyard fowl fed to repletion on that animal. 

 The feeding habit of the larvae has not been observed. Thirty or 



