610 MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 



This species is widely distributed ; it occurs in Algeria, Sahara, Tunis, 

 Egypt, Abyssinia, East Africa, Senegal, Loango, Cape of Good Hope, 

 Asia Minor, Persia, East Turkistan, Mongolia, India, Sardinia, Italy, 

 Sicily, Spain, Greece, Roumania, and Hertzgovinia. It is parasitic on 

 cattle, the buffalo, camel, rhinoceros, horse, giraffe, sheep, goat, antelope, 

 pig, dog, cat, and hare, and occasionally bites man. 



Neumann recognizes three varieties, as follows : 



Variety dromedarii, Koch, C.L. Male scutum with moderately deep 

 punctations, not so light as in the type. Ventral surface and median 

 festoon of a whitish colour ; adanal and accessory plates well developed 

 and pointed towards the median line posterior to the anus. It is found 

 in Syria, Egypt and Bokhara ; it is parasitic on the camel. 



Variety lusitanicum, Koch, C.L. Scutum not so dark as in type; eyes 

 very black, legs whitish on their dorsal and ventral borders, and with 

 dark punctations ; it is found in Portugal. 



Variety impressum, Koch, C.L. Scutum dull with numerous contiguous 

 and equal punctations. 



As far as is known at present all ticks of the genus Hyalomma require 



three hosts in order to complete their life processes ; Hyalomma aegyptium, 



however, is peculiar in its habits, as its larvae do not 



Bionomics and Life f ee( j on t h e same species of host as the adults. During 

 Processes of Hya- A , , , ... ^ - . _ , 



lomma aegyptium e course * tne examination of more than 3, 000 calves 



used for purposes of vaccination at the King Institute, 

 the larva of Hyalomma aegyptinm has never been found on a single 

 animal ; the nymph was found twenty-four times, while the adults are 

 present on almost every calf brought to the Institute. In addition the 

 adults have been taken from horses and dogs, and are very common on 

 the South Indian hare, Lepus nigricollis, attaching themselves about the 

 ears and neck. On cattle they are always found in the region of the 

 udder or scrotum; they remain attached for long periods and when in 

 large numbers cause sores which render the animals unsuitable for vacci- 

 nation. In 1908 the senior author carried out a long series of experi- 

 ments with this tick to determine the particular host or hosts it feeds on. 

 Large numbers of larvae were bred out of eggs laid by females in the 

 laboratory, and these were placed on the following animals : Calf, sheep, 

 goat, pig, dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, rat, and pigeon ; although a few 

 larvae attached themselves to guinea pigs and rats, they refused to feed 

 on the other animals. The experiments were repeated but without suc- 

 cess. It is possible that the palm squirrel, Funambitlus palmarum, and 

 the hare, Lepus nigricollis, are the hosts of the larvae ; nymphs have been 



