364 



TICKS 



Other Troublesome Ticks 



Although there are a large number of species of ticks which 

 will attack man, there are a few in addition to the disease-causing 

 species named above which deserve special mention on account 

 of the particularly bad effects of their bites. The family Argasidse 

 includes a number of species which produce very venomous bites 

 when they attack man. The various species of Ornithodorus, 

 some of which have already been mentioned as carriers of relap- 

 sing fever, produce very painful bites. Another species worthy 

 of mention is the famous " miana bug," Argas persicus (Fig. 159), 

 which is especially renowned in Persia, but which also occurs in 



many other parts of the Old 

 World. This species is often a 

 great tormentor of human be- 

 ings, especially in dirty huts 

 where it can breed readily. It 

 is primarily, however, a parasite 

 of fowls, and is believed to be 

 identical with the American fowl 

 tick, Argas miniatus. The bites 

 of the miana bug are dreaded 

 not only on account of their 

 painfulness, but also because 

 they are believed to be a means 

 of transmission of European re- 

 lapsing fever, in common with 

 lice and perhaps other insects. 

 A closely allied species, A. re- 



flexus, is a common parasite of pigeons in Europe and North 

 Africa, and frequently attacks people who come in contact with 

 infested birds or cotes. 



Another argasid tick which deserves special mention is the 

 " pajaroello," 0. coriaceus of California. Herms states that 

 " natives, principally Mexicans, in the vicinity of Mt. Hamilton 

 fear this parasite more than they do the rattlesnake, and tell 

 weird tales of this or that man having lost an arm or leg, and in 

 one instance even death having ensued, as a result of a bite by 

 the Pajaroello. There seems to be a suspicion in that region 

 that three bites will result in certain death. The stories all 



FIG. 159. Persian tick or 

 tick, Argas persicus. X 5. (After 

 Braun.) 



