CONORHINUS RUBROFASCIATUS: BIONOMICS 489 



the bug lives in these places. Although a vigorous search has been made 

 for the early stages in holes in the ground and about the roots of trees, 

 etc., they have never been seen in any of the localities in which the adults 

 are common ; it therefore seems probable that it does not lay its eggs 

 on or near the ground, and that it is arboreal in habit. 



It has been suggested that rubrofasciatus may possibly prove to be 

 the invertebrate host of the parasite of Kala Azar in Madras. This 

 suggestion was based mainly on the statements of some of the inhab- 

 itants of Georgetown, Madras, where Kala Azar is prevalent. These 

 people stated that they had seen the bug in a few instances in their 

 houses and had been bitten by it. One of the authors made a careful 

 investigation into this question and found that Conorhinus rubrofasciatus 

 was unknown to the majority of the occupants of houses where cases 

 of Kala Azar had occurred ; neither the adult insect nor any of its early 

 stages were found in any of the several hundred houses examined. This 

 bug is a large insect, and were it common it could hardly escape detection. 

 The senior author has fed a large number of adults and nymphs of 

 rubrofasciatus on himself and has recorded the effect of their bites. At 

 the moment the puncture is made a slight sting or prick is felt ; if the 

 insect is caught carelessly it may cause a severe prick. Twelve hours 

 after the bite a large erj-thematous patch about the size of a shilling 

 appears at the site of the puncture ; it remains in an inflamed and 

 extremely irritable condition for about a fortnight and then fades away ; 

 a small nodule about the size of a No. 6 shot persists for about a month. 

 The irritation produced by the bite, if it is anything like what the senior 

 author has experienced, could not escape observation. 



Conorhinus rubrofasciatus has been bred at the King Institute for the 

 last two years. During this time all the stages from the larva to the 

 adult have been kept in test tubes and regularly fed on rabbits, to which 

 host they have readily adapted themselves. This fact strongly suggests 

 that this bug is to a large extent a blood-feeder, but as to whether it is 

 entirely so cannot be settled with certainty until the natural habitat of 

 the early stages has been discovered. There is no proof that it attacks 

 man in Madras unless under very exceptional circumstances, as when it 

 is carelessly handled. 



In captivity all the stages, but more particularly the adults, exhibit 

 a peculiar habit when about to suck blood. After erecting the 

 proboscis the insect slowly lowers it towards the skin and then makes 

 a sudden forward thrust with its body ; this habit, which was noted by 

 Darwin in the case of C. infestans, recalls the behaviour of many 

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