46 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



VOL. XXVIII. 



Fig. 77. — Claws of boophi 

 i.us annulati-s. 



species, Argm refiexm^ commonly infests pigeons, but has been 

 known to attack man, not however with serious results. Our species, 

 the "'chicken tick," ^r^a.s' mlrnatd, Koch {ameri- 

 cdiKi Packard) is not uncommon in the southern 

 parts of the United States from Texas to Cali- 

 fornia, and often does a great deal of injury to 

 poultry. Chickens, badly infested, droop, re- 

 fuse to eat, in a few days drop down, and hnalU^ 

 die. It is of a dull reddish color, and the body 

 granulate. The eggs are laid in masses of 30 to 

 1< X) and deposited in cracks of the chicken house. 

 Perhaps the best remedy is to spray the inside 

 of the chicken house with kerosene or benzine, 

 then whitewash or dust with carbolated lime, 

 and finally daub the ends of the roosts with coal 

 tar. Isolating the roosts, by suspending them 

 on stout wire, or l)y placing a barrier of cotton- 

 waste soaked in oil around each end, will also be helpful. 



It is now claimed that the chicken-tick in Brazil ti"ansmlts the blood- 

 parasite of a disease fatal to fowls. A similar species 

 (.1. Kancht'zl Duges) is found in houses in New Mexico 

 and Arizona and is there called the "'adobe tick," 



In the allied genus, Ornlthodoi'ox^ we have two spe- 

 cies, both known to attack man. O. turieata Duges is 

 the most dangerous. The Mexicans call it '"turieata.'' 

 In southern California the}^ are known as " pajahuellos"' 

 to the cattle herders. Their bite wMll cause large swellings that remain 

 for some days, and are very painful. The other species, O. megninl 



Duges, is a serious pest to cattle 

 and of much more coriimon occur- 

 rence. It infests the ears of 

 horses, cattle, sheep, and some- 

 times man, and has been called the 

 " spinose ear tick." The nymphal 

 stage is quite unlike the adult tick 

 and was figured by Marx as Rhyn- 

 chopr/o)) .splnosiini. It is of a 

 brown or blackish color, and in 

 the nymphal stage is clothed with 

 many stout spines. It has been 

 known to cause death in cattle. 

 They can usually be removed by 

 an application of linseed or olive oil. Like the preceding it is a Mex- 

 ican species, which occurs oidy in the southern parts of our country, 

 but is sometimes found as far north as Nebraska. The adult is known 

 to Mexicans as the "garrapata," and the young are called "pinolias." 



Fig. 78.— Egg of 

 boophilus an- 



NULATUS. 



79.— DeRMACF.NTOR VARIABILIS, MALE FROM 

 BELOW. 



