76 DIRECT INJURIES CAUSED BY INSECTS. 



mites, some of which, particularly Leptus autumnalis, are of a 

 bright red colour. The other case, and a very similar one, 

 is that recorded by MoufFet of Lady Penruddock, concerning 

 whom he expressly tells us, that Acari swarmed in every 

 part of her body — her head, eyes, nose, lips, gums, the soles 

 of her feet, &c., tormenting her day and night, till, in spite 

 of every remedy, all the flesh of her body being consumed, 

 she was at length relieved by death from this terrible state 

 of suffering. MoufFet attributes her disease to the Acarus 

 Scabiei, but from the symptoms and fatal result, it seems to 

 have been a different and much more terrific animal. He 

 supposes, in this instance, the insect to have been generated 

 by drinking goat's milk too copiously. This, if correct, 

 would lead to a conjecture that it might have been the 

 A. Lactis, L.* 



These cases I hope will satisfy you that mites, as well as 

 lice, are the cause of diseases in the human frame. This, 

 indeed, as has been before observed, is allowed on all hands 

 with respect to that of the itch ; and it is, certainly, not more 

 improbable that man should be exposed to the attack of several 

 species of this genus, than that three or four kinds of Pedi- 

 culus should infest him. If you are convinced by what I 

 have written, you will concur with me in thinking that the 

 one are as much entitled to give their name to the disease 

 which they produce as the other ; and the term Acariasis, by 

 which, with due reference to medical men, I propose to dis- 

 tinguish generically all acarine diseases, will not be refused 

 its place amongst your Genera Morhorum, 



I shall now proceed to the remaining class of diseases mis- 

 taken for Phthiriasis ; those, namely, which are produced by 

 larvce. There are two terms employed by ancient authors, 

 Eul<B (EuAai) and Scolex (^xcoAyjf), which seem properly to 

 denote larvse ; but there is often such a want of precision in 

 the language of writers unacquainted with Natural History, 

 that it is very difficult to make out what objects they mean ; 

 and expressions which, strictly taken, should be understood 

 of larvae, may probably have sometimes been used to denote 

 the cause of either the pedicular or acarine disease. Eulce, 



1 A new species of mite has just been described by M. Simon, which lives in 

 the diseased and normal hair-sacs of man. Miiller's Archiv. 1842, p. 278. 



