26 Genus Argas 



The Geographical Distribution of this species appears to be 

 limited to Europe and N. Africa. Osborn (cited by Ward, 1900) has 

 stated that it occurs in the United States as far north as St Louis but 

 there is no certainty that the determination was correct. 



England: A. refleams was found at Canterbury Cathedral by 

 Gulliver (1872, p. 205) who states that its presence had " long been 

 known in the dark recesses of our time-honoured fane " and that it was 

 regarded there as an " insect peculiar to Canterbury Cathedral." The 

 ticks were found " rather plentifully crawling about the inside of the 

 base of the Cathedral " (see also Fullager, 1874 a and b ; " R. E.," 1874 ; 

 Spicer, 1874, Taschenberg, 1874, Wheler, 1899, p. 12). Two specimens 

 were secured alive in the Cathedral by W. F. Cooper in March, 1908. 

 We find no other records of its presence in Great Britain although 

 Donitz (1907, p. 26) states that it used to prevail in Ireland (authority 

 not stated). 



France: the pigeon tick, according to Neumann, occurs especially 

 in the Ardennes. Latreille (cited by Megnin, 1880, p. 136) once found it 

 in a house, but judging from the statements both of Latreille and 

 Hermann it has grown much rarer in France. Laboulbene and Megnin 

 (1882, p. 323) sought in vain for years to procure specimens from pigeon 

 fanciers, and Neumann could only lend us a single </ specimen for 

 purposes of study. 



Germany: Pagenstecher (1862) records its presence in large 

 numbers in the loft of a house at Frankfort where it greatly disturbed 

 the sleep of the servants at night. Gerstaecker (1863, p. 344) notes its 

 having been recently found to attack man in Germany, and states 

 it occurs more commonly in Southern Europe. Taschenberg (1880, 

 p. 152) states it has long been known in Alsace and in the Province 

 of Saxony at Eisleben (Taschenberg, 1873; 1900, p. 740) having been 

 recorded there and in Westphalia and at Friedeberg a. d. Saale before 

 1871. Donitz (1907, p. 26) writes that it is difficult to obtain. Schnee 

 (1908, p. 32) records that about 1896 an old church was torn down at 

 Magdeburg and that persons visiting the church at the time were much 

 attacked. As is usual in such cases, pigeons had been kept there and 

 the ticks wandered into the church. Mertens in 1907 sent specimens to 

 Hamburg from Magdeburg and some of these were kindly placed at our 

 disposal by Dr Fiilleborn (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg). 

 Schellack (1908, p. 487) found it in two pigeon coops in Magdeburg. 



Italy: Bianconi (1867) reports it from Modena. Canestrini (1890) 

 states it was found in 1876 in the interstices of the mosaic in the church 



