105 



on America, but there is strong evidence that it was known to Aris- 

 tophanes, Dioscorides, Pliny, and Aristotle. 



The adult bug (Fig. Wb) is well adapted, from 

 its flattened shape, to entering narrow crevices 

 in the joints of bedsteads or cracks in walls, 

 or in other convenient places of concealment, 

 and in such places the females 

 lay their eggs. These eggs I I 



are white, of an oval form, 

 slightly narrowed at one end, 

 and are terminated by a cap / ( , 

 which breaks off when the 

 young escape. The young / ^HP^ v 



bugs are whitish, and at firtS Fig. 16.— Acanthia lectularia: a, young; b, adult— en- 

 . „,, , , larged. (After Kile v.) 



nearly transparent. The head 



is comparatively broader than in the old bug, and the antenna? are 

 stouter. They molt several times before attaining full growth, and 

 among the specimens in my possession I can distinguish about four 

 distinct stages. . The bug figured at 16 a has probably molted once, and 

 the differences in the head, thorax, and antennae, from the full-grown 

 bug, will be readily seen. The disagreeable smell, characteristic of 

 these insects, arises from certain minute odoriferous glands which in 

 the young bug open on the back of the thorax, and in the adults on the 

 lower side of the body^ 



The number of annual generations depends on conditions of food and 

 warmth. With plenty of food and an even temperature they will mul- 

 tiply with great rapidity, while under contrary conditions reproduction 

 may be greatly retarded. Adult bugs have been known to remain alive 

 for more than a year without a single meal. It is this fasting capacity, 

 together with its form so well adapted for hiding, which renders it so 

 difficult to thoroughly disinfect an infested house. 



Here again benzine must be our strongest weapon. Finely sprayed 

 with a hand atomizer it will penetrate the minutest cracks, and is sure 

 death to the insect in all its stages, including the egg. It is a certain 

 remedy, and used thoroughly will destroy every bug in a house. Kero- 

 sene is almost as good and is a little more lasting in its effects. Many 

 preventives have been advised, but none are permanent. One of the 

 best formulas for a substance with which to paint the cracks in a bed- 

 stead or the wall is one ounce corrosive sublimate, half pint alcohol, 

 aud one-fourth pint spirits of turpentine. 



It will be a work of supererogation to advise the experienced house- 

 keeper to pay particular attention to the belongings of new servants, 

 and even to the baggage of refined and cleanly guests who come from 

 the South or West and have stopped on the way at hotels. Indeed, 1 

 feel that little of a practical nature can be written of this insect that 

 experienced housekeepers will not know already. It may not be out of 

 7069-No. 4 2 



