INSECT ENEMIES OF EASTERN FORESTS 79 
Again, as pointed out by Metcalf (296) and Metcalf and Flint 
(298), insects or their relatives annoying to man are the subject of 
frequent inquiries in recent years, because of the great increase in 
visitors to the forests as their recreational values are becoming aup- 
preciated. Among these insects are the mosquitoes, blackflies, and 
punkies (Diptera), and ticks and mites (Acarina). 
For further information on insects the readies should consult general 
references, such as Comstock (103) ; Essig (145); Metcalf and Flint 
298); Herrick (223); Graham (194) ; : game: et al. (133) ; Packard 
(323) ; and Imms (251 Ne 
THE TRUE LICE 
ORDER ANOPLURA 
The true lice are wingless insects with sucking mouth parts, and are 
parasitic on mammals. The head louse, the body louse, and the 
crab louse are common representatives of this order that infest man. 
Other species attack domesticated and wild animals. The eggs are 
glued to the hairs of the host. DDT (10 percent) powder is elective 
in control,” 
THE BIRD LICE 
OrpER MALLOPHAGA 
The bird lice resemble the true lice in being parasitic on warm- 
blooded animals, but they have chewing mouth parts instead of the 
sucking type. They chiefly infest birds and are often troublesome 
on domestic stock, but some forms are found on mammals. The eggs 
are attached to the feathers or hairs. Derris powders, sodium fluoride, 
and DDT are effective in control. 
THE FLEAS 
ORDER SIPHONAPTERA 
The fleas are small, hard-bodied, compressed, wingless insects, hav- 
ing piercing and sucking mouth parts and undergoing a complete 
metamorphosis. ‘The larvae he in the litter in cracks in the floors of 
houses, under porches, about the kennels or stables of animals, or In 
the nests of animals or birds in hollow logs and trees, and are seldom 
seen. The adults suck the blood of mammals and some birds and 
are often annoying to man, especially in the home and in camps. 
One species, the human flea (Pulex irritans L.), naturally lives on 
man but also infests other animals. The fleas transmit several dis- 
eases, including bubonic plague, which is now endemic in rodents in 
our Western States. 
The fleas leave the body of their host almost immediately after it 1s 
killed. Hunters are often severely bitten by fleas that leave the bodies 
of the game carried in their coats. A simple precaution is to wait 
a few minutes until the animal has cooled before placing it in one’s 
coat, or to carry it by a string until the fleas have jumped off. The 
* Hddy, G. W., and BUSHLAND, R. C. CONTROL OF HUMAN Lice. U.S. Bur. Ent. 
and Plant Quar. E-675, 5 pp.. 1946. [Processed. ] 
792440°—49—_6 
