ARGAS PERSICUS: BREEDING CAGE 637 



attached to it, or by the next but one ; in those cases in which the larvae 

 and nymphs are restricted to one animal, the parasite can only be trans- 

 mitted by the larvae when they first become attached, and here the prob- 

 lem is complicated by the occurrence of hereditary infection. The 

 larvae hatching out of eggs laid by an infected female are capable of 

 passing on the infection to the host in one or other of the stages of the 

 second generation. 



In the following account of the technique employed in breeding and 

 experimenting with ticks the genera will be considered separately, in 

 order to show the modifications which the special circumstances require 

 in each case. 



Ticks of the genus Argas are somewhat peculiar in their feeding habits. 

 The larva as far as is known is a blood-sucker, and always remains 



attached to its host for several days ; shortly before it 



^ u *.- a ,. u r Argatini: Genus 



drops off it assumes the characteristic flat shape or Arias 



body, which, as already pointed out, is a special pro- 

 tective adaptation, since a flat tick can more easily pass into a narrow 

 slit than one which is swollen dorso-ventrally. The first nymph is a 

 rapid feeder and takes from twenty minutes to half an hour to take a 

 full meal of blood ; it then detaches itself and crawls away to hide in the 

 abode of its host. The second and only other nymphal instar behaves 

 in the same way. The female takes a feed of blood and after a short 

 period becomes sexually mature ; the male may or may not feed before 

 copulation, which always takes place in the resting place. After another 

 period the females begins to oviposit, laying the eggs in batches of 100 

 or more and usually returning to the host to take a feed between each 

 act of oviposition. The larvae hatch out in about ten days, and the life 

 history begins again. 



The nymphs and adults of most of the species of Argas are nocturnal 

 in their habits, behaving exactly like the bed bug. Some, owing to the 

 habits of their hosts, are diurnal feeders. Argas vespertilionis, which is 

 parasitic on a number of bats in Madras, but more particularly on 

 Scotophilus kuhli, the yellow bat, has been taken in all its stages from its 

 host when caught in its resting places during the day. 



For breeding and experimenting with Argas persicits, the fowl tick, a 

 cage suitable for imprisoning the host is required. One similar to that 



shown on Plate LXXXII, fig. 1, is very convenient, 



. MI i r . r TU Argas persicus : 



and will also serve for a variety ot purposes. 1 he cage Breeding technique 



measures one foot in each dimension, and consists of a 



number of iron rods rivetted to an iron framework ; a wire frame (not 



