2208 



THE DERMATOZOIASES 



Auchmeromyia luteola (Fabricius, 1805) lays its eggs in soil con- 

 taminated with faecal matter or urine around or inside native huts 

 in the Congo (hence its name Congo floor maggot), Central and 

 Northern Mozambique, Eastern Transvaal, East Africa, Nyassaland, 

 and Kordof an. The larva, escaping from the egg, seeks the cracks 

 and crevices in the mud floors of these huts or pass into dirty native 

 mats. When hungry, these larvae are thermotoxically drawn to a 

 temperature of 38° C., and hence they attack man, both biting and 

 sucking blood. When replete, the researches of Roubaud show that 

 they are no longer thermophilus. Under favourable conditions the 

 larvae become pupae in some fifteen days, but under unfavourable 

 circumstances larval existence may be prolonged for seventy-six 

 days. Only the larvae are blood-suckers, and they may be killed 

 by sprinkling the floor with Jeyes' fluid. 



Auchmeromyia pmgrandis Austen, 1910, is found in South Africa. 



Irritating Lepidopterous Larv^. 



The larvae or caterpillars of many genera of Lepidoptera are well 

 known to possess tegumentary glands, which secrete an irritating 

 fluid, which passes from the gland to hollow hairs. These are the 

 instruments by which the caterpillar injects this fluid into the skin, 

 causing erythema and irritation. 



White gives long lists for Europe and America, while Wellman has 

 studied the subject in Angola, where he mentions larvae belonging 

 to the Arctiidae, Limacodidae, and Liparidae, and gives details con- 

 cerning one — viz. : — 



Ochipia is a native name signifying ' that which burns,' and is 

 appHed to the larvae of the tiger-moth, which is very irritating. 



Irritating Coleopterous Larvae. 



Wellman says that in Angola there is a coleopterous larva called 

 Ochisia {Noli me tangere), which possesses bristles which can pene- 

 trate into the sole of the foot and cause pain, inflammation, and 

 sloughing. It is related to the genus Drilus, of the Malacodermata. 



Dermal Myiasis. 



This subject has been discussed in Chapter LXVIL, p. 1631, and 

 need not be further mentioned, except to invite attention to Baier's 

 work, published in 1740, entitled ' De generatione insect orum in 

 corpore humano,' and Clarke's paper in 1797 to the Linnaean Society 

 of London, establishing the relationship between the larvae and the 

 adult insects in the (Estridae. Smith's paper at the 1881 Inter- 

 national Medical Congress is also of interest. 



Creeping Eruption. 



Synonyms. — Larva migrans. Bulgarian : Nova Bolest, Pulziasta 

 Bolest. German : Hautmaulwarf. Northern Nigeria : Larbish or 

 (Erbiss. 



