Parasites of Domestic Animals in Hawaii — Alicata 
73 
agation the year round as well as the de¬ 
velopment and hatching of fluke and other 
parasite eggs. Moreover, agricultural prac¬ 
tices in the Islands have encouraged rather 
than hindered the maintenance of fluke in¬ 
fection. With ample supplies of vegetation, 
cattle have been allowed to graze continu¬ 
ously. Many dairymen have long been in 
the habit of feeding cut forage from wet or 
swampy areas to cattle. These practices have 
been largely responsible for the widespread 
fluke infection. This disease is gradually be¬ 
ing brought under control largely through 
(1) use of copper sulfate for the control 
of the snail vector in swamps or streams, 
(2) use of forage grass cut from dry areas, 
and (3) treatment of infected animals with 
hexachloroethane. This synthetic compound, 
although first used in fluke control in Europe 
in 1926 (Thienel, 1926), was first utilized 
on a large scale in the United States by the 
University of Hawaii Agricultural Experi¬ 
ment Station (Alicata, 1941 < 2 ). 
TAPEWORMS 
The infective larval stage "bladderworm” 
of Taenia saginata Goeze has occasionally 
been found present in the musculature of 
cattle in the Islands, according to a personal 
communication received from Dr. A. H. 
Julien, Federal meat inspector. The larvae 
reach maturity in the intestine of man, fol¬ 
lowing ingestion of improperly cooked beef. 
Cattle acquire the infection as a result of 
eating vegetation contaminated with human 
feces containing eggs of this parasite. It is 
generally believed that most cases of human 
infection occur among immigrants from the 
Orient, especially the Philippines. 
ARTHROPODS 
Several dipterous larvae are knov/n to be 
parasitic on cattle. In a recent examination 
of 303 animals (Cuckler and Alicata, 1943), 
26.1 per cent showed evidence of the cattle 
grub, Hypoderma lineata (De Villers), a fly 
first reported in the Islands in 1906 (Bryan, 
1934). This parasite is recognized as very 
injurious to cattle, causing loss of flesh and 
decreasing the value of the skin for leather. 
Some years ago, Mr. O. A. Pickerill of the 
Hawaii Meat Company in a personal com¬ 
munication reported that during the year 
1934, of 15,099 hides examined, 4,252, or 
28.16 per cent, were grubby. 
In recent years a report was made of at¬ 
tacks or "fly strike” of blowflies on young 
calves on the island of Kauai (Holdaway, 
1943; 1945). Observations indicated that 
three species of flies were involved, Chry- 
somia megacephala (Fabricius), C. rufifacies 
(Macquart), and Lucilia sericata (Meigen) . 3 
These flies ordinarily breed in carcasses and 
other animal matter. However, they may de¬ 
posit eggs in a number of different places on 
recently born calves. The eggs hatch and the 
larvae or maggots feed on the surface layer 
and cause an inflamed, malodorous wound. 
Infested calves become spiritless and, unless 
suitably treated, die in a few days. 
Auricular myiasis of cattle caused by the 
larvae of C. megacephala, C. rufifacies, and 
Fannia sp. have been reported by Zimmer¬ 
man (1944). Species of adult flies which 
are pestiferous on cattle in the Islands in¬ 
clude the horn fly, Siphona irritans (Linn.) 
(— Lyperosia irritans [Linn.]), and the 
stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (Linn.) (Bry¬ 
an, 1934). 
Lice, Haematopinus eurysternus (Nitzsch) 
(Cuckler and Alicata, 1943) and Bovicola 
hovis (Linn.) (Zimmerman, 1944), have 
occasionally been found on cattle. General 
emaciation or unthriftiness is usually asso¬ 
ciated with infestation. 
The spinose ear tick, Otobius megnini 
(Duges), which was first noted in recent 
years (Alicata, 1941b; Cuckler and Alicata, 
1943; Zimmerman, 1944), is widespread on 
beef cattle. Of 357 cattle examined from 
3 According to a personal communication from 
F. G. Holdaway, the identification of Lucilia is 
tentative. 
