August, ’18] 
CAFFREY: HEMILEUCA URTICATING SPINES 
365 
tincture of iodine in a band around the wrist, also painted the entire 
back of the hand with a weaker tincture of the same chemical. This 
treatment had the effect of arresting the swelling. The spot where 
the larval spines had entered the flesh became septic, due perhaps to 
the blistering effects of the iodine used, and the hand did not return 
to normal for more than a week. 
Another instance showing the extremely active effects of the poison 
may be cited in the case of a man who climbed from the seat of his 
automobile in order to open a gate between two range pastures, which 
were infested with larvae of H. olivice. This man happened to be wear¬ 
ing low shoes and thin socks, and probably brushed against a cater¬ 
pillar clinging to a blade of grass. After returning to the automobile, 
he was conscious of a sharp stinging pain in his ankle, and upon remov¬ 
ing the shoe and sock, observed a white swelling. He at once became 
very much alarmed and concluded that he had been bitten by a rattle¬ 
snake, as these reptiles are very numerous in this vicinity. It was only 
after an examination by a physician that he became convinced that he 
was not the victim of a snake bite. 
During the course of investigations, many similar experiences of 
poisoning by H. olivice larvae were related by the cattlemen and dry¬ 
land farmers who inhabit the infested region. 
The eyes of the men working with the larvae were often affected by 
the urticating spines, a severe inflammation and swelling being the 
usual result. This was probably due to the fact .that the spines were 
either floating in the air or were carried to the eyes by the fingers or 
gloves which had become infested with the spines and were then care¬ 
lessly used to rub the eyes. 
Internal Injury. The internal injury caused by the urticating 
spines of H. olivice is of a much more serious nature than the external 
injury. While engaged in rearing predaceous beetles, it became nec¬ 
essary to collect and confine in screen-covered boxes large numbers of 
the larvae of H. olivice to serve as food for these beetles. Five or 
six hundred larvae were sometimes confined in a small box, and be¬ 
cause of their constant crawling about and rubbing against each 
other, the urticating spines apparently became detached and floated 
in the air. While transferring this material or working in the 
vicinity of a cage containing the same, these spines often entered the 
respiratory tract during the process of breathing. The first effect of 
taking them into the system was an oft-repeated and painful sneez¬ 
ing, accompanied by an excessive watery discharge and soreness of 
the eyes and nasal passages. These symptoms rapidly developed 
into a condition worse than ordinary hay fever or bronchitis, the 
spines apparently irritating the bronchial tubes, rendering breathing 
