Gr. E. Bodkin 
1 Q 
L o 
Demerara, a few miles out of Georgetown. They are abundant but it is neces¬ 
sary to know their lurking places. In extremely dry weather and in heavy rainy 
weather they are sometimes hard to find. Their favourite retreats are beneath 
large rainwater vats, in small swamps containing a thick growth of “ mucca- 
mucca ” (Montrichardia aculeata), inside old galvanised iron pipes 5" diameter 
lying in a damp and shady situation, and in holes just above the water level 
of trenches overhung with grass, in fact any place that is cool, close to water, 
damp, and well concealed. 
In rainy weather there is no more familiar nocturnal sound than the 
regular, resonant, and guttural vibrations of these creatures which mimic the 
distant beat of a well tuned motor cycle engine running at a fair speed. It is 
a most cheery sound though apt to become monotonous. 
I have dealt at some length on the interesting habits of these toads both 
in confinement and under natural conditions because they have a direct 
bearing on those of their parasites. 
As soon as the ticks were replete and had dropped they were transferred 
to glass tubes, open at both ends and with one end implanted in damp sand 
and the other plugged with cotton-wool after the method devised by Bishopp 
(1912). This method acted perfectly. The glass vessel containing the damp 
sand was usually covered with a wire cage to prevent possible disturbance 
by rats. In these tubes oviposition and ecdysis took place. 
Larvae and nymphs, when moulting, often took up a position directly 
beneath the plug of cotton-wool on the side of the glass. Occasionally they 
buried themselves in the sand. The adults, before oviposition, completely 
buried themselves in the sand; it took them several days to thus dig themselves 
in. The larvae on emergence from the egg immediately made their way to 
the top of the tube. 
LIFE HISTORY. 
The original female ticks (three in number) procured for these experiments 
were obtained from several toads which had fallen into a large metal tank 
sunk in the earth and partially filled with water. They had obviously been 
imprisoned there for some time. The ticks were removed from the toads 
and brought to the laboratory, where they were placed in tubes with damp 
sand, and allowed to oviposit. 
Oviposition commenced 22. x. 15 and proceeded regularly for about 
16 days. On 18. xi. 15 the females were dead. The eggs are light brown, 
ellipsoidal in shape, smooth and shining. As development of the embryo 
proceeds dull white markings may be observed. The larvae are active but 
feign death on being violently disturbed. After emergence they void a tiny 
white spot of excrement. The larvae await their host with the front pair of 
legs extended above and in front of their bodies. This position is assumed it 
they are at rest and then gently disturbed. 
The following records do not relate to single ticks but to lots of six or 
more raised at one time: 
