20 Second Report on Economic Zoology. 
Tyroglyphidae sent as Sheep Scab Mites. 
Specimens sent from the County Chemical Laboratory, Worcester, 
supposed to be Scab Mites, had nothing to do with the parasite 
that causes Sheep Scab (vide p. 17.) 
They were mites of the family Tyroglyphidae, which occur in all 
manner of places. A few are found as parasites on man and animals, 
but they do not cause marked diseases like “ Sheep Scab ” and the 
allied “ Itch ” in human beings. 
The mites that cause Sheep Scab, Sarcoptidae, present quite a 
different appearance. 
A true Tick ( Dermacentor ) and others attacking 
Poultry. 
The poultryman at the Agricultural College at Wye tells me that 
a tick which I had received is common in some parts of the 
country on fowls and turkeys. The specimen sent was immature, 
and being unknown to me was forwarded to Mr. Wheler for deter- 
mination. There are no records of any of the Ixodidae living on fowls 
except species of Argas. Mr. Wheler, the chief authority on British 
ticks, sent the following reply : — 
“ The tick you send is a fully distended nymph. I am practically 
sure it is Dermacentor reticidatus (Fabricius). It is not stated to have 
been found on poultry, but chiefly on sheep. At Bevelstoke, however, 
it has developed into a great pest, affecting the gardens and herbage 
in March and attacking human beings when gathering flowers. Being 
immature it is not possible to say the species. It may be another 
species of Dermacentor. If so it is new to England.” 
Several poultry people have talked to me of “ Ticks,” but when 
they have been sent they have always proved to be Goniodes or 
Goniocotes. The poultryman at the S. E. Agricultural College 
knows all the lice well, so there must be something in this Tick 
pest. 
The only known British Tick parasitic on fowls, but chiefly on 
pigeons, is Argas rcflexus. Other species are occasionally found on 
birds, but not habitually. Argas rcflexus is flat, with a wrinkled 
margin all round the back. It is, however, rare in this country even 
amongst pigeons. It is frequent in Italy and in some parts of France ; 
it also occurs rarely in Germany. The Argas in all its stages lives 
on blood, the larva? being fixed for a longer time to their host than 
