ig8 STUDIES IN INSECT LIFE, ETC. 



epizootic termed SpMllosis in fowls in the Sudan, 

 and for numerous other diseases which afflict 

 man and cattle throughout the world, but ticks 

 are not common on the grouse, and the Inquiry 

 has as yet traced no disease to them. In parts 

 of Ross-shire, however, especially in certain 

 woods, these ticks are said to be extremely 

 numerous, and the keepers aver that they fre- 

 quently kill off large numbers of black-game. 

 They are commoner during the spring and early 

 summer, but usually disappear at the beginning 

 of July. Curiously enough a common cheese 

 or flour mite was from time to time found in 

 considerable numbers on the skin of the grouse, 

 and apparently these mites sucked the blood of 

 their host, for their alimentary canal contained 

 red food. 



Finally, there are a couple of true flies, the 

 well-known grouse-fly which is apt to crawl 

 up the sleeves of those who handle grouse in 

 the early autumn. The grouse-fly belongs to 

 the same group as the horse-fly and the sheep- 

 tick. The latter, however, has lost its wings, 

 and burrows in the wool of the fleece. Most 

 members of the family to which this grouse-fly 

 belongs live upon birds ; it particularly frequents 



