314 
STRANGE DWELLINGS. 
rostris , which is one of the gall-makers. It is one of the largest 
of the British weevils, being more than half an inch in length, 
and is very simply clad in grey and black. 
If the reader desires to discover the larva of the beetle he may 
probably be successful by going to any waste spot where thistles 
are allowed to grow, and examining them carefully about the 
stems and roots. Nothing is more common than to find the 
stems of thistles swollen in parts, and in many cases the root is 
affected as well as the stem. Fortunately for the gardener, who 
hates thistles, even though he should be a Scotchman, as is so 
often the case with skilled gardeners, the larva of the Cleonus 
feeds on the juices of the plant at the expense of its life, so that 
the thistle dies just before the seed is developed, and a further 
extension of the plant is thereby prevented. 
There are also gall-making insects among the Diptera. Such, 
for example, is the Thistle-gall Fly ( Urophora Cardui ), which 
produces large and hard woody galls upon the thistle, as well as 
several species of the larger genus Tephritis, some species of 
which live in the parts of fructification of several flowers, the 
common dandelion being infested by them. 
We must now glance at a few of the insects that are parasitic 
upon other animals. Their numbers are very great, but we 
must restrict ourselves to those which construct some sort of a 
habitation. 
The only insect which can be said to be parasitic on man, and 
at the same time to form a habitation, is the celebrated Chigoe 
(Pulex penetrans), otherwise called the Jigger, or Earth Fly. 
This terrible pest is a native of Southern America and the West 
Indian islands, and is too well known, especially by the negroes 
and natives. 
This insect, which is closely allied to the common flea, and 
much resembles it in general appearance, contrives to hide itself 
under the nails of the fingers or toes, usually the latter. Having 
gained this point of vantage, it proceeds very gradually to make 
its way under the skin, and, strange to say, does so without 
