REPORT OF THE SOCIETY 139 



Ixodidae. — Ixodes, Dermacentor, Rhipicentor, Margaropus, Boophilus, 

 Amblyomma, on mammals. 



Dermanyssidae. — Liponyssus, Dermanyssus, chiefly on birds. 



Gamasidae. — Laelaps, on Arthropods and mammals. 



Tarsonemidae. — Pediculoides, Tarsonemus, man and grain and other 

 plants. 



Tyroglyphidae. — Tyroglyphus, Rhizoglyphus, on dried fruits and bulbs 

 and man. 



Sarcoptidae. — Psoroptes, Sarcoptes, Chorioptes, producing itch on 

 mammals and birds. 



Tetranychidae. — Tetranychus, Bryobia, on plants. 

 Tromhidiidae. — Trombidium, Harvest mites. 



(Consult Handbook of Medical Entomology, by Riley and Johannsen, 

 pp. 259-273.) 



Family — Dermanyssidae (Poultry Mites) 



A most common form is the Chicken-Mite {Dermanyssus gallinae DeG.), 

 a flattened, elliptical mite, with 8 legs, 1/40 inch long, distinctly reddish 

 after feeding. 



The eggs are laid in cracks and crevices of the wood or straw of the 

 nests and roosts. They become mature in about ten days. They are most 

 active at night. 



Control. — (a) Cleanliness and sunlight, as mites thrive best in damp, 

 dirty houses; (b) remove droppings and all old nesting material; (c) clean 

 and scrub or wash with water all the perches, roosts, nests, floor and walls; 

 (d) spray or paint these with a 5% cresol, or with 3 parts kerosene and 1 

 part crude carbolic acid, or with kerosene emulsion. Two or three applica- 

 tions are necessary at intervals of a few days. 



When houses are whitewashed 4 oz. crude carbolic acid should be added 

 to each gallon of whitewash. It is often advantageous to scatter a mixture 

 of three parts of dry slacked lime and one part sulphur with the doors and 

 windows closed. 



Family — Sarcoptidae (Scab and Itch Mites) 



The Poultry Itch Mite (Sarcoptes mutans Robin) produces "scaly-legs" 

 of fowls, turkeys, etc. It may also attack the comb and beak. The disease 

 is contagious. The mites bore under the scales of the foot and leg and 

 burrow deeper and deeper into the tissue, setting up an irritation, frequently 

 a lameness, and sometimes the loss of some of the toes. 



