Parasitic Arthropods 



According to Nuttall it is specifically identical with Argas americanusr 

 Packard or Argas miniatus Koch, which is commonly found on fowls- 



in the United States, in the South 

 and Southwest. Its habits are com- 

 parable to those of the bed-bug. It, 

 feeds intermittently, primarily at 

 night, and instead of remaining on its- 

 host, it then retreats to cracks and 

 crevices. Hunter and Hooker (1908) 

 record that they have found the larva, 

 to remain attached for five or eight 

 days before dropping. Unlike the 

 Ixodidffi, the adults oviposit fre- 

 quently. 



The most remarkable featiu-e of 

 the biology of this species is the great 

 47. otiobius(Ornithodoros)^^megnini,head longevity, especially of the adult. 



Hunter and Hooker report keeping' 

 larvas confined in stmimer in pill boxes immediately after hatch- 

 ing for about two months while under similar conditions those 

 of thelxodid, Boophilus annulatus lived for but two or three days. 



48. 



Otiobius (Ornithodoros) megnini, male, (a) dorsal, (b) ventral 

 aspect. After Nuttall and Warburton. 



Many writers have recorded keeping adults for long periods without 

 food. We have kept specimens in a tin box for over a year and a half 

 and at the end of that time a number were stiU alive. Laboulliene 

 kept unfed adults for over three years. In view of the effectiveness of 



