Se aes 
i 
COUGHS RUE SE 
262 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ave., 1901. 
Finally, on the ventral side, on each side of the anus, there are two longitudinal 
bands of the web-like material. (Plate XI., Fig. 1.) 
The rostrum of the female is larger than that of the-male, but the dart 
has still only four rows of teeth. The shield is very narrow. On the ventral 
surface, and immediately in rear of the rostrum, there is an oviduct, protected 
by two little webs, and surrounded, like the transverse crack in, the male, by 
numerous little spines. (Plate XI., Fig. 2.) 
A very short time after the second sloughing the male leaves the place 
muliere he was attached, and adheres afresh, his abdomen touching that of the 
emale. 
The fecundation is of short duration, and is effected during the night. 
The ticks, in fact, are especially nocturnal parasites, as I haye very clearly 
established. I have not been able to seize these arachnides at the instant of 
copulation ; but it is probable that the male inserts his penis into the vulvo-anal 
slit. The fecundation being completed, he retires, and spends the night search- 
ing out females of the age of puberty, and at daybreak he attaches himself 
afresh by plunging his rostrum into the skin of his host. 
He can fecundate several females, and when he is exhausted he remains 
with the last, who, in increasing her size, soon restores him completely. 
When the second sloughing is over, the male tick grows no more, and dies 
a few days after the last copulation. The female remains fixed to the spot 
where she underwent the second sloughing ; still, if she feels uncomfortable, 
she also can change her, location during the night. The female rapidly 
increases in size after the second sloughing. 
On the 31st I found several females 6 m.m. long and 3 m.m. 5 broad, 
weighing each 0 er. 10. 
On 1st April I found two ticks which had arrived at their full develop- 
ment; they were quite gorged with blood. One of them was 13 m.m. long and 
5mm. 5 broad. She weighed 0 gr. 30; that is to say, that in twenty-four 
hours she had sucked in 0 gr. 20 of blood. On the same day I measured a 
male. He was only 2 m.m. long and 1 m.m. broad. 
On the following days I collected many ticks which had reached maturity 
fully gorged with blood. Still, I must add, that there is great variation in the 
evolution of ticks ; heat hastens their development, whilst cold retards it. Hyen 
when the conditions of temperature are identical, there are notable variations; 
thus, in the experiments described above, I saw ticks, which on April 5th, had 
only just undergone their second sloughing. 
At the time of their complete development, the female ticks are of an olive 
colour and much resemble a coffee bean before roasting ; they are very convex | 
on the back, slightly so on the abdomen; the rostrum appears to be very 
small. ; 4 
When they have gorged themselves with blood, the females fall to the 
ground and seek a tuft of grass or some shelter under which they lay. their 
egos. In the experiment I am describing, the egg-laying began on the 4th 
April, that is to say, three days after the tick had detached itself from the 
bullock which had harboured it; the egg-laying lasted for four or five days. 
As the tick lays her eggs, she diminishes in size. On the dorsal surface 
especially, there appear irregular veins, yellowish or reddish ; at the end of the 
laying she has become flat, shrivelled, soft, and more or less yellowish or reddish. 
When she is laying, all the parts of the rostrum join together. This 
organ separates itself completely from the dorsal shield, and buries itself in 
the camerostome (chamber), making continuous motions from front to-rear, and 
up and down, to assist the laying. At the same time, the oviduct dilates, and 
allows the eggs to pass, whilst the rostrum pushes them outside, where they 
form a little compressed heap, covering all the anterior portion of the tick. 
The rostrum also appears to lubricate this cavity, formed by its various 
motions. Does it emit a slime for the protection of the eggs? It is very 
possible. The eggs average 0 m.m. 60 long by 0 m.m. 35 broad; they contain, when 
first laid, a mulberry-like substance. 
