Gr. E. Bodkin 
11 
A. dissimile, are frequently met with and are capable of performing their 
functions. It is worthy of note that Newstead failed to capture males of this 
species in Jamaica. 
Nuttall (1915), working in England, has induced parthenogenesis experi¬ 
mentally in Rhipicephalus bursa. 
In British Guiana A. dissimile is w r ell known. The engorged females 
attached to the head of Bufo marinus (bull-frogs, termed locally “ crapauds ”) 
immediately between the eyes are often seen and are most conspicuous 
objects. 
A. dissimile can only be said to be of indirect and of very small economic 
importance. Thus the attachment of these ticks to the toads occasionally 
brings about the death of the host; the toads, which are very numerous, are 
great insect eaters and perform excellent work in the consumption of many 
insect pests. 
The hosts of this tick are toads, iguanas, and lizards, and they have been 
also observed on several species of snakes. It is probable that the adult 
females are capable of engorging on most cold blooded animals; they are 
incapable of engorging on warm blooded animals. The larvae and nymphs 
however will thus engorge. 
I propose to give firstly an account of my methods of rearing this tick, then 
a detailed account of its life history and habits, and finally shall describe 
its powers of reproducing parthenogenetically. 
METHODS OF REARING. 
Throughout these experiments the host utilized was Bufo marinus. The 
experiments were commenced on the 20th October 1915 and terminated in 
October 1917. The work was carried on somewhat intermittently owing to 
the frequent pressure of other work. I have to acknowledge occasional assist¬ 
ance from Mr L. D. Cleare, Jnr., F.E.S. 
The illustrations will give a good idea of the kind of cage which w r as found 
most convenient for confining the toads and for manipulating the ticks with 
which they were infested. Shallow, circular glass dishes of uniform size were 
obtained and between them a cylinder of brass wire net with 20 meshes to 
the inch and about 6 inches in height was introduced, the dishes closing both 
ends of the wire cylinder like caps. The diameter of the cylinder was about 
10 inches. This arrangement was finally arrived at after numerous trials and 
was found to answer most satisfactorily. It is sufficiently rigid, effectually 
confines the crapaud and admits a maximum quantity of air and light. A 
lead weight was necessary on the top cover to prevent the crapaud jumping 
up and knocking it off; an event very likely to occur with an energetic crapaud 
desirous of escaping. 
The bottom cover of the cylinder was stood in another shallow, circular 
and larger, glass dish. In this outer dish water and kerosene were placed; 
this prevented ticks from escaping or entering the apparatus from the outside. 
