91 



grano salts, as he is not an experienced entomologist, and amidst green 

 foliage it is not so easy to discover, a dust-colored insect when it is iso- 

 lated on the top of a dry twig, whence it lets itself down on the 

 passer-by. 



As to the effect of the bite of this species on human beings, the symp- 

 toms vary; also the time of suction following the bite. The effect 

 seems to depend chiefly on the peculiar temperament of the victim. 

 This seems to be the case also when we take into consideration the com- 

 parative immunities and receptivities in regard to the bite of Acanthia 

 (Cimex) lectularia, Eeduvius, and of the different Culicidae. Mr. E. A. 

 Plaskett has been bitten thrice, and in each case twenty-four hours 

 intervened before fever and swelling set in. The numbness of the bit- 

 ten parts, which is a characteristic following the bite of Arachnid and 

 Myriopod, and also of some Hymenopterous stings, was not noticed in 

 a single instance. 



These observations agree very well with the facts that are in our pos- 

 session relative to the symptoms attendant upon the bite of the Argas; 

 at the same time they explain the discrepancies in statements of the 

 effect of the bite of the dreaded Argas persicns, which seems to be as 

 local as our California insect. 



The fatal cases of the Argas persicns bite, mentioned by old Herodotus 

 and by Pallas in modern times, may have their origin in malarious 

 fevers which were very common in that district of the Persian province 

 Ghilan, between the Caspian Sea and the Elbruz Mountain, where the 

 Argas is found. The bite of the insect is probably only a coincidence, 

 of course not favorable to the condition of a patient already weakened 

 by malaria. Here in California we have had to face an analogous error 

 in regard to the fatal effects of Rhus cliversiloba. All the fatal cases 

 were malaria patients who had been sick for a considerable time before 

 they came in contact with the Ehus. 



As to the Argas persicns, even if its bite is not fatal, the consequences 

 in some cases must be serious enough to induce the inhabitants of 

 Persian villages to change the location of their settlements, as is men- 

 tioned in Kotzebue's report of his travels through Ghilan. At the 

 same time this change of location is another proof of the very local dis- 

 tribution of Argas persicns. Argas columbce of Europe and the species 

 of our own Santa Lucia Mountains are likewise restricted to limited 

 areas. 



Our Santa Lucia species seems to be both diurnal and nocturnal. 

 The Argas columbce of Europe is nocturnal, and its habits closely 

 resemble the common bedbug. The local name of our California species 

 is "Pajaronela," a word evidently derived from the Spanish "Pajaro," 

 a bird, and it would indicate to me a similar mode of life to that of 

 Argas columbce, were not the statements of Mr. Plaskett, founded on 

 repeated observations of this locally very common insect, diametrically 

 opposed to such a supposition. 



