4° 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



favourite appear to be sheep, goats, cattle, and 

 deer ; but it is found on hedgehogs, moles, bats, 

 etc., even on birds and lizards. 



Ixodes liexagonus Leach, 1815. 

 Synonyms: I. autunmalis Leach, 1815; I. eri- 

 nacei Audouin, 1832 ; I. reduvius Audouin, 1832 ; 

 I. crenulatus Koch ; I. vulpis Pagenstecher, 1861 ; 

 I. erinaeeus Murray, 1877 ; I. ricinus Megnin, 

 1880. 



Fig. 15. 1. hexago 



E™nale par.;'., distended 



Female, slightly distended (fig. 15). Length, 

 3 - 86 fasting to 11 mm. when fully replete. Coxae 

 of first pair of legs with a moderate spine. Shield 

 heart-shaped, punctate ; body finely hirsute. 

 Palpi short and broad. Labium shorter, and tarsi 

 of (all legs more truncate than in I. reduvius. 

 Body when slightly distended drab, waxy, and 

 semi-transparent. Kostrum, shield, legs, &c, light 

 testaceous. Male. Length, 3-50 to 4 mm. Red- 

 brown, legs lighter. Shield punctate, leaving a 

 narrow margin round the body. Genital orifice 

 opposite the interval between the second and third 

 pairs of legs. Body elliptical, almost as large in 

 front as behind. Spine on coxae of first pair of 

 legs longer than in the female, but shorter than 

 that of the male I. reduvius. Anal shield nearly 

 as long as the ventral shield, between the apparent 

 sexual orifice and the anus. 



Pupa. Fasting 1-76 mm. Body light bluish- 

 grey, margined, transparent, with four posterior 

 large intestinal marks joined together behind the 

 shield, and smaller ones extending to the front 

 and sides; visible through the shield. Uniform 

 brownish-white when distended. Shield, legs, 

 rostrum, etc., pale testaceous. 



Larva. 0-88 mm fasting to L76 mm. distended. 

 Body light translucent, becoming dark on reple- 

 tion. Shield, legs, etc., very pale testaceous. 

 Body with very similar intestinal marks to 

 I. reduvius. 



This species is common, and is parasitical on 

 various hosts, more especially on stoats, ferrets, 

 hedgehogs, etc. It is also found on sheep, cattle, 

 and other" animals. The males are rare, and, un- 

 like I. reduvius, are not generally found accom- 



panying the female on the host. It seems therefore 

 probable that pairing takes place elsewhere. 



Ixodes liexagonus Leach, var. inchoatus Neu- 

 mann (fig. 16), described as I. plumbeus in SciENCE- 

 Gossip of 1899. The length of the female is only 

 about 2-86 mm. fasting to 6 - 56 mm. when replete. 

 Colour of body fasting light brownish grey, with 

 eight large dark triangular intestinal marks, termi- 

 nating within the margin, two other small ones 

 being nearly concealed by the shield. Margin 

 distinct, grey. Head, shield, legs, etc., same colour 

 as I. liexagonus. Coxae of first pair of legs differ, 

 having no distinct spine, but sometimes a tubercle. 

 The second and third pairs have also small 

 tubercles. Labium shorter, with only eight barbs, 

 as against about ten on the outer margin in 

 I. liexagonus. Male. Length, 2 - 52 mm. Body 

 elliptical, deeply punctate above and below. 

 Margin round shield wider than in I. reduvius. Ap- 

 parent genital orifice as in I. liexagonus. Small 

 spine or tubercle on coxae of front pair of legs. 



Fig. 16. I. liexagonus, var. inchoatus. 



Anal shield long as in I. liexagonus. This descrip- 

 tion is taken from a solitary capture found in the 

 North Tyne Valley in copula, intercourse being by 

 the mouth organs, as with I. reduvius. 



Pupa and Larva. Similar to I. liexagonus, but 

 smaller and lighter, the larva being 0'74 mm. 

 fasting. This tick is very abundant on the shep- 

 herds' dogs on the Border, but in no case was 

 found on sheep. The male was not, as in other 

 ticks, found present with the females on the host. 



Ixodes tenuirostris Neumann. 

 This species has not yet been described, but. 



Fio. 17. /. tenuirostris. 

 Professor Neumann informs me that he has 



