288 
Tick Parahisis 
Regions where ticks attach themselves on other animals and on man. 
In raising experiments on rabbits the larvae and nymphs seem to 
attach themselves almost anywhere ; perhaps the most favonrite places 
are around the muzzle, eyes and the neck. As no larvae or nymphs 
were found in these experiments they are not considered, and my 
remarks refer to adults only. 
In horses and cattle the neck, withers, and the perineal region seem 
to be favourite localities for attachment. In man the nape of the neck 
is undoubtedly the favourite place—all the shepherds, miners and 
trappers I have interviewed say the same thing. Medical men also 
refer to this peculiarity. 
Proportion between the sexes found on sheep. 
Out of 87 ticks collected off sheep on the range, 53 were females 
and 34 males. 
Habits of male ticks. 
When males are placed on sheep, their first impulse is appai’ently 
to feed, and in these experiments they did not seem to pay any attention 
to the females. Tiiey reattached themselves several times, and after 
three or four days .sought out the females; then they fastened them¬ 
selves qiiite close to them and copulated. The males are somewhat 
distended after feeding—not at all like Ixodes —and judged from the 
limited number of observations I have made, copulate with semi-gorged 
females. This may be different in nature. Males and females will 
attack a host at different times, and in this event the females may be 
impregnated before gorging. 
As males attach and reattach themselves to a host regardless of 
females being about, it makes them decidedly more dangerous to man 
than the males of many other species. Whether they can produce 
paralysis in the absence of females remains to be proved, but certainly 
with regard to spotted fever in Montana this habit on the part of 
D. venustus doubtless renders them more dangerous. 
