1931 ] 
Notes on Ornithodoros talaje 
173 
that after the rodent hosts had been either destroyed or 
prevented from returning to their hiding and nesting places 
in the apartment, the engorged larvae that had dropped from 
them had, after molting and becoming nymphs, been forced 
to seek their blood meals from the human inhabitants. 
Since the larvae of this species remain attached to the host 
for several days while engorging and none in this stage 
had been observed by the X family, it is reasonable to be- 
lieve that if larvae had hatched from eggs deposited in the 
house they were not existing upon human blood. 
It seems rather remarkable that during the time these 
ticks were present in the X apartment, the other parts of 
the house seemed to be free of them. The families occupy- 
ing the other three apartments stated that they had not 
been bitten by the ticks and none had been found in their 
rooms. 
Observing the effects produced on Mr. X by the bites of 
these ticks I fed seven of them on my left forearm in 
order to study the reaction upon myself. There was a 
considerable delay in getting them to start feeding, but 
after they began taking blood they all became well engorged 
and secreted coxal fluid. The longest time required by any 
of the seven to engorge was sixteen minutes. Five of them 
were induced to feed by placing them one at a time in a 
tube applied to the same spot on my arm. Thus all five 
fed on the same site and each of the last four apparently 
used the same tiny puncture made in my skin by the first 
one. The reaction from these bites consisted of a slight 
swelling with a well-marked hsemorrhagic area surround- 
ing the site of each bite and accompanied by a severe itch- 
ing which occurred at intervals during the three or four 
days following the bites. Naturally the effects produced 
by the multiple bites at the same site were much more 
pronounced than at the sites of the two single bites. Since 
the reaction I experienced was so much less severe than in 
the case of Mr. X, I am led to believe that there is a con- 
siderable difference in the susceptibility of individuals to 
the effects of bites from these ticks. 
My thanks and appreciation are due Dr. D. P. Curry 
for information regarding this house infestation, and to 
