JOURNAL 



OK rilK 



JOfId J9oph Qntomologiral Horiptg^ 



Vol. 1. JUXE, IHUn. Ko. 2. 



TICKS IN THE EARS OF HORSES. 



Bv C H. In l.KK 'I'OWNSKM). 



Xotvvithstandinjj^ the recent valuable j^apers of Dr. Cooper 

 Curtice (in Journ. C'oiiip. ^[ed. and Vet. Arch., July 1891 — Jan. 

 1S92, and in Bull, 24 Te.xas Agric. Exper. Station), and the timely 

 ami valuable classificatory paper of Dr. (ieo. Mar.x, (Proc. Ent. Soc. 

 Wash., \'ol. II, pp. 232-6) on ticks, I can fnid no niciuion of any 

 species ever being found in the ears of mammals. In southern 

 Mexico, and also western Texas, we have a tick which is, at least 

 here, confined to the eurrs of horses and perhaps some other animals. 

 They are never found outsitle on the body of the animal, but only 

 within the ears and usually deep-seated. They are very abundant 

 also, and the wonder is that there seems to be no record of this 

 habit in a tick, and what is more that the tick itself is not 

 readily determinable. 



I am informed that ticks, perhajis not the present species, 

 arc found in the ears of horses, and also cattle, in the southern 

 states, and as far north as I'ennsylvania. It therefor seems strange 

 that no mention should be made of this habit by writers on ticks. 

 1 have also been told of ticks that were fountl in the ears of dogs 

 in northern Indiana, the tick being a species apparently either of 

 Ixodes, or of Dermacentor. 



In March, 1891, in Las Graces, I took from the ears of a horse 

 of the type commonly called bronco, a good number of ticks of all 

 stages except the larva. These are of all sizes, from the egg (?) 

 and white young ticks to the leaden blue older ones. But they all 

 have eight legs, which indicates that they have all passed the 

 larval stage. 



I have spent much time in rather vainly trying to arrive at a 



