1004 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XAV. No. 652 



about three fourths of an inch long, of greatest 

 diameter at the base and tapering to the apex. 

 At the base of this peculiarly formed corolla 

 there were three spurs about one third of tha 

 circumference of the corolla apart. The apex 

 of the corolla terminated in a circular crown, 

 which was orange-colored, like the palate in 

 the ordinary flower. At the upper end of tha 

 tubular coroUa, close to the orange-colored 

 crown, th&re were three petal-like tips equally 

 distant from one another. 



J. B. TURNEB 



THE INDIAN BEDBUG AND THE KALA AZAE 

 DISEASE 



It is not generally known by the ento- 

 mologists of this country that the common 

 bedbug of India is not Gimex lectularius Lin- 

 naeus, but Cimex rotundatus Signoret {= mac- 

 rocephahu Pieber). Captain 'W. S. Patton, ' 

 of the Indian Medical Service, has recently 

 published important papers on this insect, 

 especially in regard to its pathogenic relations. 

 In a brief note on the distribution of these 

 two house-infesting bedbugs published in the 

 Indian Medical Gazette, XLIL, February, 

 1907, he points out the above-mentioned fact, 

 and leads us to form the opinion that enough 

 observations have not been made along that 

 line. Lectularitis is apparently distributed 

 mainly throughout the North Temperate Zone, 

 while rotundatus is tropical or subtropical; 

 and though until very recently known from 

 Burma only, it is now recorded by Dr. Pat- 

 ton as occurring throughout India, Assam, 

 Malay, Aden, Mauritius and Reunion (Pat- 

 ton, ihid.) and still more recently (Patton, 

 April 4, 1907, in litt.) it is recorded from St. 

 Vincent, Sierra Leone and Porto Rico. I 

 have specimens from Madras Presidency 

 (South India), Reunion, Mauritius and St. 

 Vincent, kindly sent by Dr. Patton. 



These facts in regard to the distribution 

 of the Indian bedbug become of economic 

 importance in view of the now definite evi- 

 dence which Patton presents that the dreaded 

 kala azar disease of India is carried by that 

 insect. This evidence is published as No. 27, 

 new series, Scientific Memoirs hy Officers of 

 the Medical and Sanitary Departments of the 



Government of India, Calcutta, 1907, and is 

 entitled ' Preliminary Report on the Develop- 

 ment of the Leishman-Donovan Body in the 

 Bedbug.' By the means of extensive experi- 

 ments with bedbugs, it is fully demonstrated 

 that these bodies, the cause of the disease, are 

 ingested from patients and go through con- 

 siderable development. In a postscript to this 

 paper, Patton states that all of the inter- 

 mediate stages of development and fully de- 

 veloped flagellates have since been found in 

 the insect, and he states his belief that ' it 

 is beyond all doubt that this insect trans- 

 mits the disease.' Owing to conditions, it is 

 impossible for him to test this directly by 

 exposing healthy persons to the attack of in- 

 fected bedbugs, but as it is, the evidence is 

 complete and all of the facts point to the 

 conclusion reached by Dr. Patton. 



The establishment of this relation of the 

 Indian bedbug to the transmission of a much- 

 dreaded disease naturally directs our attention 

 again to the pathogenic relations of our own 

 common household pest, Cimex lectularius 

 Linnseus, which is now under investigation 

 by some of the medical profession. 



A. Aesbnb Gieault 



Washington, D. C, 

 May 25, 1907 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 



THE SOLENODON OF SAN DOMINGO: ITS EXTERNAL 



CHARACTERS AND HABITS 



A SPECIMEN of this rare and curious in- 

 sectivorous mammal (Solenodon paradoxus) 

 recently obtained by Mr. A. Hyatt Verrill in 

 San Domingo and preserved in formol, has 

 been submitted to me for study. Owing to 

 the introduction of the mongoose and other 

 causes this creature has become very rare and 

 local. It is, without doubt, on the verge of 

 extinction. At present, it is scarcely known 

 in the great museums of Europe, and no 

 specimen is known to be preserved in a»-y 

 American museum. A single skeleton is said 

 to exist in the museum of Berlin. The only, 

 other Solenodon {S. cuharms), of eastern 

 Cuba, is said to be nearly or quite extinct. It 

 is a smaller and more hairy species, with 

 shorter tail 



