i84 ARACHNOIDEA. 



CASE my hands covered with blood and blotches like large bites of 

 bugs, which I supposed must belong to some particular species 

 of monstroiis size. My companion told me that we had been 

 stung by wasps lodged in the walls of the house. On arousing 

 the muleteer who conducted us, he told us that we were the 

 victims of an animal called Talaje, which they considered a large 

 flea. On seeking for the insect, I found this Argas, which appeared 

 to me very disgusting. Some were distended with blood, others 

 had the skin rugose and wrinkled. I then remembered having 

 taken some of them on my face during the night, and having 

 rolled them between my fingers, taking them for some of the ticks 

 with which my mule was covered to such a degree that some 

 people told me it would be killed by them. 



" These Talajes keep themselves in the crevices of the walls of 

 old houses. These walls are made of bamboos, roughed with 

 mortar. They bite like fleas, and return to their holes before 

 morning, for they are nocturnal. My hands and ears were much 

 swollen, and I suffered horribly. On piercing some of the 

 pustules full of blood occasioned by these, a drop of blood issued. 

 I washed myself, and put in the water some drops of volatile 

 alkali, but in place of allaying the pain, that only added to the 

 swelling and inflammation. 



" M. Jules did nothing, and suflered as much as I did, only the 

 swelling was less, and did not last so long." M. Salle passed 

 two bad feverish nights after this. On the third he began to 

 get better, but it was not until a fortnight afterwards that he 

 was entirely cured. — Rev. Mag. ZooL, 1-849, 342* 



The figure is copied from Guerin, and from its appearance it 

 seems not unlikely that it may belong to the same section as the 

 preceding. 



An insect belonging to this group has been described under the 

 name of Eschatocephalus gracilipes. It is said to be only an 

 aberrant form of Argas. 



