abAPPENDIX BA LIST OF BRITISH FLEAS AND THEIR HOSTSA list of the British Fleas (Siphonaptera) revised to March 1913:NamesUsual HostsPulex,L.P. irritansMan, BadgerXenopsylla,Glink.X. cheopis,Rothsch.RatArchæopsylla,DampfA. erinacei,BouchéHedgehogCtenocephalus,KolenC. canis,Curt.DogC. felis,BouchéCatSpilopsyllus,BakerS. cuniculi,DaleRabbitOrnithopsylla,Rothsch.O. lætitiæ,Rothsch.Puffin and Manx shearwater (Scilly Is. only)Ceratophyllus,KolenC. fasciatus,Bosc.RatC. londiniensis,Rothsch.House-mouse, RatC. sciurorum,Schrk.Squirrel, DormouseC. melis,Wlk.BadgerC. mustelæ,WagnerBank-vole and Field-miceC. penicilliger,GrubeBank-vole and Field-miceC. walkeri,Rothsch.Stoats, Voles, and Field-miceC. gallinæ,Schrk.Chickens and many birdsC. fringillæ,Wlk.SparrowC. garei,Rothsch.Many birdsC. rusticus,WagnerHouse-martinC. farreni,Rothsch.House-martinC. hirundinis,Curt.House-martinC. columbæ,Gerv.PigeonC. styx,Rothsch.Sand-martinC. gallinulæ,DaleMany birds: especially freshwater breedersC. vagabundus,BokemanNests of Sea-fowlC. borealis,Rothsch.Gannet and Rock-pipitC. rothschildi,Waterst.House-martinCtenophthalmus,KolenC. agyrtes,HellerField-mice and VolesC. agyrtes nobilis,Rothsch.Water-ratC. bisoctodentatus,KolenMoleDoratopsylla,Jord. and Rothsch.D. dasycnemus,Rothsch.ShrewRhadinopsylla,Jord. and Rothsch.R. pentacanthus,Rothsch.WeaselR. isacanthus,Rothsch.Bank-volePalæopsylla,WagnerP. sorecis,DaleShrewP. minor,DaleMoleP. kohauti,DampfMoleLeptopsylla,Rothsch.L. musculi,DugesMouseL. spectabilis,Rothsch.Bank-voleTyphloceras,WagnerT. poppei,WagnerLong-tailed Field-mouseHystrichopsylla,Taschb.H. talpæ,Curt.MoleIschnopsylla,Westw.I. elongatus,Curt.Noctule BatI. intermedius,Rothsch.Serotine BatI. simplex,Rothsch.Natterer’s BatI. octactenus,KolenPipistrelle BatI. hexactenus,KolenLong-eared BatNycteridopsylla,OudemansN. longiceps,Rothsch.Pipistrelle BatN. eusarca major,Rothsch.Noctule BatacAPPENDIX CON COLLECTING AND PRESERVING FLEASThere are two methods by which fleas may be preserved for study when they have been collected. The first is by keeping the specimens in small tubes of alcohol; the second is by mounting each in Canada balsam on a slide for the microscope. The advantage of the former method is that the material can be used for dissection. The student can do nothing without a microscope, though some of the commoner species can be identified with tolerable certainty by a practised eye which is assisted by a pocket-lens.The tubes are best stored away in a cabinet fitted with wooden shelves and holes to take the tubes like a test-tube holder. Fleas dried and preserved loose in a box, or gummed on card, are useless for purposes of minute examination, and are soon destroyed.Fleas may be collected from the great majority of mammals and birds in almost all parts of the globe. They can be found in the hair and under the feathers, and also in the places where the animals habitually sleep. The best places, from which a plentiful haul may often be obtained, are the holes and nests in which the young have been reared.It is essential to remember, when an animal hasbeen killed, that all the fleas leave as soon as the body of the host gets cold. No time, therefore, should be lost in searching for specimens.If the animal is small enough it may be put into a cardboard box, or a white linen bag, and a few drops of chloroform or benzine can be poured on it. In a short time the fleas will be found dead in the bag or at the bottom of the box. Some may also be found in the hairs and feathers when they are turned back.In the case of a large mammal the hair must be turned backwards shortly after death, when the live fleas may be seen running about and caught. For this purpose a small camel’s hair brush is very useful. If a flea is touched with a brush of this kind which has been dipped in chloroform, benzine, or alcohol, the insect sticks to the brush, but can be easily floated off into the tube of preservative. The best preserving liquid is 50 per cent. alcohol. Methylated spirits can be used. Acetic acid can also be used; but it is objectionable because in a short time it destroys the corks of the tubes.Each tube should only contain the fleas collected from one host, but as many specimens as possible should be secured, because there may be several species of flea on the same host.The tube must be securely corked and labelled, with the date, the locality, and the name of the host.In foreign countries it may not be always easy to do this. In such cases the skin of the host must be preserved with the tube for subsequent identification. A number corresponding to the label on the tube should be attached to the skin of the host.Fleas collected without records of the host from which they were obtained are of little or no scientific value. For this reason a tube should contain the parasites of one host only.A convenient way of preserving records temporarily is to write inpencilon a small piece of paper which can be rolled up and put in the alcohol in the tube.Small mammals generally, including bats, are good hosts; Rodents and Insectivora afford usually the most fruitful captures. In trapping mice and voles only those traps should be used in which the animals are caught alive, or the fleas will have left their hosts before they can be secured and examined. Field-mice caught in the ordinary small penny mouse-trap are often found dead in the morning. The best traps are made on the principle of the ordinary mouse-trap, but larger. A piece of bacon-rind on the hook is a good bait for almost all small mammals. Where a number of traps are put down and left out they should, of course, be visited daily.When a live mouse, or other small mammal of similar size, has been captured it may be transferred from the trap into a small white linen or holland bag.The animal can then be killed by tapping its head or breaking its neck from the outside of the bag. After this has been done, fleas may be searched for in the fashion described above.Most of the small mammals which act as hosts for fleas are nocturnal. The localities where they may be trapped are numberless, but only a small proportion of the captures may yield anything for the flea-collector. I have heard of a collector of small mammals who travelled through remote parts of Spain and never lost an occasion for putting down his traps when he had to change trains at a country railway junction. In England it would, however, seldom be worth doing this, as, on many lines, there is an attempt to make the arrival of one train and the departure of another correspond.The following plan for securing bird-fleas will be found successful. The nests of birds should be taken as soon as the young are fledged and flown. If the nest is small it can be put into a glass-topped box lined with white paper. If too large, the whole nest, or the most firmly matted and dirty part, may be put into a glass globe (such as gold-fish are kept in) and a piece of paper tied over the mouth. From time to time the nest should be slightly damped with water. In every case a label should be put into the receptacle to preserve the name of the bird which built the nest. The bottom of the nest may sometimes be seen to befull of the larval fleas; but in any case fleas will probably emerge from pupæ. The fleas will continue appearing for as much as six weeks or eight weeks after the young birds have left the nest. They must be watched for and taken off the sides and top of the box with a camel’s hair brush dipped in chloroform or benzine. I have seen dozens of fleas come from the nest of a tit (Parus major) in the course of a few weeks. They were all of the common species (C. gallinæ). When the lid of the box is removed it is difficult to prevent a few escaping in the room, but I have never known them cause inconvenience to anyone.Collectors in warm countries should give their attention to the chigoes and their allies, which are of great interest and have been little studied. They are found on mammals and birds in tropical and semi-tropical countries. The males are very difficult to find, but the females are large and very parasitic. They have the appearance of a small wart firmly fixed to the skin. Small mammals may be transferred, with their chigoes attached, to a bottle of alcohol. Many examples of these insects are often found together on the more naked portions of their hosts.adAPPENDIX DBIBLIOGRAPHYA. General Bibliography of the chief and most recent works. Many have bibliographies of earlier works.1.Taschenberg(1880),Die Flöhe. Halle.Although the author only describes 30 species, his book forms the basis of all subsequent scientific work. He divides fleas into (a) chigoes, (b) non-chigoes. Plates. Bibliography. References to 73 earlier writers.2.Karsten(1864),Beitrag zur Kenntniss des Rhyncoprion penetrans.Bull. Soc. Imp., Moscou. Vol.XXXVII., p. 72.A full account of the life and habits of the chigoe. Many references to older writers and travellers.3.Wagner(1889),Aphanipterologische Studien.Hor. Soc. Ent. Ross. Vol.XXIII., p. 199; (1893) Vol.XXVII., p. 347; (1898) Vol.XXXI., p. 539; (1902) Vol.XXXV., p. 17; (1903) Vol.XXXVI., p. 125.A series of learned papers by a professor at the Russian University of Kieff. He has also written in Russian.4.Dampf(1907),Die Ost-und Westpreussische Flohfauna.Schriften der Physik.-ökonom. Gesellschaft zu Königsberg-i-Pr.,XLVIII.Jahrgang, p. 388.Contains an excellent general account of our present knowledge of fleas. Short Bibliography.5.Dampf(1910),Palæaeopsylla Klebsiana n. sp. ein fossiler Floh aus dem baltischen Bernstein. Schriften der Physik.-ökonom. Gesellschaft zu Königsberg-i-Pr., LI. Jahrgang,II. 248.Good plates of the fossil flea in amber.6.Oudemans(1909),Neue Ansichten über die Morphologie des Flohkopfes sowie über die Ontogenie, Phylogenie und Systematik der Flöhe. Novitates Zoologicæ, Vol. 16, p. 133.Suggests a new classification based on the morphology of the head, viz. (1) Integricipita; (2) Fracticipita. By the chief authority on fleas in the Netherlands. He has also written numerous papers in Dutch.7.JordanandRothschild(1908),Revision of the non-combed eyed Siphonaptera. Parasitology, Vol.I., p. 1. Plates. Bibliography.An excellent piece of work, which includes an account of the plague fleas.8.JordanandRothschild(1906),A Revision of the Sarcopsyllidæ. Thompson Yates and Johnston Laboratories Reports, Vol.VII., p. 15. Plates. Bibliography.The best modern account of the chigoes.9.Baker(1904),A revision of American Siphonaptera or Fleas together with a complete list and bibliography of the group. Proc. U.S. National Museum, Vol.XXVII., p. 365. Plates. Bibliography of special papers only.The earlier references, beginning 1699, mostly from Taschenberg.10.Baker(1905),The Classification of the American Siphonaptera. Proc. U.S. National Museum, Vol.XXIX., p. 121.Gives an index of hosts and their fleas. Additional bibliography.11.Rothschild(1898),Contributions to the knowledge of the Siphonaptera. Novitates Zoologicæ, Vol. 5, p. 533; (1900)Further Contributions,etc., Vol. 7, p. 539; (1903) Vol. 10, p. 317; (1904) Vol. 11, p. 602; (1905) Vol. 12, pp. 153 and479; (1907) Vol. 14, p. 329; (1909), Vol. 16, pp. 53, 57, 61, and 332; (1906)Notes on Bat-fleas, Vol. 13, p. 186.These papers contain, for the most part, descriptions of new species in the writer’s collection. Many fine plates illustrating morphology and structure of the external skeleton.B. The following references are to papers on the systematic position of theSiphonapteraand their relationship to other insects.1.Kraepelin(1884),Ueber die systematische Stellung der Puliciden. Hamburg, 1884.2.Packard(1894),The Systematic Position of the Siphonaptera. Proc. Boston Nat. Hist. Society, Vol.XXVI., p. 312.3.Dahl(1897),Puliciphora, eine neue flohänliche Fliegengattung. Zoologischer Anzeiger, Vol.XX., p. 409.4.Wandalleck(1898),Ist die Phylogenese der Aphaniptera entdeckt?Zoologischer Anzeiger, Vol.XXI., p. 180.A humorous reply to Dahl.5.Dahl(1899),Die Stellung der Puliciden im System. Archiv für Naturgeschichte, Vol. 65,I. p. 71. Plates.6.Heymons(1899), Die systematische Stellung der Puliciden. Zoologischer Anzeiger,Vol. XXII., pp. 223 and 301. Three figures.A destructive criticism of the views advanced by Dahl.7.Semenov(1904),Zur Frage der systematischen Stellung der Flöhe. Revue Russe d’Entomologie, Vol.IV., p. 277. In Russian.C. The following references are chiefly to works on plague and fleas.1.Advisory Committee(1905-1909),Reports on Plague Investigations in India. Journal of Hygiene, Vols.V.,VI.,VII.,VIII.andX.These volumes contain the five “Extra Plague Numbers.” Many references to observations and experiments on rats and fleas.2.Hankin(1905),Plague Epidemiology. Journal of Hygiene, Vol. V., p. 48.3.Ogata(1897),Ueber die Pestepidemie in Formosa. Centralbl. für Bacteriol., Vol.XXI., p. 769.4.Simond(1898),La Propagation de la Peste. Annales de l’Institut Pasteur. Vol.XII., p. 625.5.Hankin(1898),La Propagation de la Peste. Annales de l’Institut Pasteur, Vol.XII., p. 705.6.Verjbitski(1908),The part played by insects in the epidemiology of the plague. Journal of Hygiene, Vol.VIII., p. 162.Experiments made 1902-3 at Cronstadt and S. Petersburg with fleas. This important research was written in Russian and not translated or published till 1908.7.Doane(1910),Insects and Disease. Constable and Co.A popular work by an American entomologist. Contains a chapter on fleas and plague. Some good micro-photographs of fleas. Bibliography.indINDEXAbdomen,31Ancestors of fleas,3Antennæ,25,47Aphaniptera,4Aptera,34Arachnids,1Arctomys,95Armadilloes,14Arthropods,1,2Bacillus pestis,84Badger,9,68Baker, Mr Carl,70Bat-fleas,24,106Bat-fleas, head-flaps of,27Bats,12,107Bettongia,15Bibliography,118Black death,86Blood-system,60Blue, Doctor,98Boden, Mr,18Bombay, Plague in,95Brain,45British fleas, list of,110British fleas, number of,11Brown snake,15California, plague in,98Carnivora,14,16Caterpillars, attacked by fleas,18Catesby,75Cat-flea and dog-flea distinct species,70Catholic and Protestant,9Caudal stylets,37Ceratopsyllidæ,17,106,110Ceratophyllus anisus,103C. farreni,11C. fasciatus,89,96,102C. gallinæ,70C. gallinulæ,70C. rothschildi,11C. vagabundus,11Chigoes,74—— on bats,75—— burrowing habits,78—— distribution of,83—— on parrot,75—— pregnant females of,81—— post-oral process of,27—— on rats,101—— rostrum of,77Chitin,21Classification of fleas,17Claws of feet,31Coleoptera,34Collection of fleas,113Combs,26Corsica, fleas attack flies in,19Ctenocephalus canis,8,9,16,63,70C. erinacei,63Ctenophthalmus agyrtes,103C. assimilis,103Dahl,35Dampf,18Dermatophilus cæcata,82D. penetrans,69,74,83Diemenia superciliosa,15Diptera,4,5Dissection,61Distribution,11,12Dog-flea, development of,8Dog-flea and cat-flea distinct species,70Dolichopsyllus stylosus,22Echidna,15Echidnophaga ambulans,15Edentata,14Eggs,5Epidermis,21Epimeron,31Erinaceus,68Excreta,57Eyes,24Field-mouse,9,25Fossil fleas,18,19Fowl-flea,10Fracticipita,110Frontal tubercle,50Fruit-Bats,107Ganglia,45Gannet,11Genitalia,51Gerbillus,68Gizzard,54Gophers,95Ground-squirrels,95,98Guinea-pigs,66,93Gullet,54Hankin,88Hatching spine,5Head,28Hearing,50Heart,60Hedgehog,9Hemiptera,34Heymons,31Hooke, Robert,47Hosts, of British fleas,110—— change of,10—— meaning of,8House-martin,10Human flea, absent from Sahara,64Human flea, from badgers,68Human flea, described,63Human flea, from Mexican Indians,67Human flea, mouth-parts,67Human flea, from New Guinea,65Hypopharynx,39Hystrichopsylla talpæ,22Insectivora,13Integricipita,110Ischnopsylla unipectinata,13Jehangir, Emperor,86Justinian, Emperor,86Kitasato,84Klebs, Professor,19Labial palpi,48Labium,40Labrum,42Larva,5,7,36Leeuwenhoek,38Legs, structure of,30Leptopsylla musculi,89,103Linnæus,4,75Listropsylla,50Macrochiroptera,107Malacopsylla,80M. androcli,14M. grossiventris,14Malpighi,59Malpighian tubes,59Manchuria, plague in,95Mandibles,42,48Marmots,95Marsupials,14Maxillæ,40,48Maxillary palpi,40Metamorphosis,5Microchiroptera,107Monkeys,12Monotremes,15Mouth-parts,39Mouth,54Muscles,33Mus, genus,97Myriapods,1Myrmecobius,15Needles for dissecting,61Nervous system,44Nycteribia,26Ogata,87Orthoptera,34Otospermophilus beecheyi,98Oudemans, his classification,110Ovaries,51Oviedo,74,76Palæopsylla,19Pariodontis riggenbachi,69Penguins,11Performing fleas,72Petrels,11Pharynx,54Pharyngeal pump,54Phoridæ,35Pigeon-flea,10Plague,84Plague and fleas,87—— in Egypt,86—— of London,85—— medieval precautions,21—— transmission of,44Platypsyllus,26Polyctenes,26Protestant and Catholic,9Puffins,11Pulex irritans,4,19,63,75,95Pulicidæ,17,109Pupa,7Pygidium,46,50Rat-fleas,104,105—— and man,101Rats and mice, fleas of,97Rectal glands,57Rectum,57Rectum, discharge of blood from,44Reptile, flea on a,15Rock-pipit,11Rodents,13Rostrum,40Rothschild, Mr Charles,70,101Salivary glands,58,92Samuel, Book of,85Sand-martin,10,11San Francisco, plague in,94Sarcopsyllidæ,17,74,109Seals,14Segmented structure,22Sense organs,49Sexual differences,23,51Sexual organs,51Simond,87Siphonaptera, description of Order,108Size of fleas,22Species, number of,4Spilopsyllus cuniculi,77Spines 23,25Stephanocircus,27Sternites,32Stigmata,59Stomach,56—— bacilli in,93St Paul’s Cathedral,29Sucking, method of,43Suctoria,35Swift, African,11Taste, sense of,50Tergites,32Testes,51Thaumopsylla breviceps,106Thorax,29Tiraboschi, Dr Carlo,70Tracheæ,59Trapping hosts of fleas,113Trichosurus,15Typhloceras poppei,25Ungulates,13Urinary tubules,59Variation, geographical,16Verjbitski,88Vermipsylla, on Ungulates,13Wings, relics of,4,31Woodward, Dr,15Xenopsylla cheopis,11,89,102,104Yersin,84Zoological Gardens, fleas in,16,66CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
abAPPENDIX BA LIST OF BRITISH FLEAS AND THEIR HOSTSA list of the British Fleas (Siphonaptera) revised to March 1913:NamesUsual HostsPulex,L.P. irritansMan, BadgerXenopsylla,Glink.X. cheopis,Rothsch.RatArchæopsylla,DampfA. erinacei,BouchéHedgehogCtenocephalus,KolenC. canis,Curt.DogC. felis,BouchéCatSpilopsyllus,BakerS. cuniculi,DaleRabbitOrnithopsylla,Rothsch.O. lætitiæ,Rothsch.Puffin and Manx shearwater (Scilly Is. only)Ceratophyllus,KolenC. fasciatus,Bosc.RatC. londiniensis,Rothsch.House-mouse, RatC. sciurorum,Schrk.Squirrel, DormouseC. melis,Wlk.BadgerC. mustelæ,WagnerBank-vole and Field-miceC. penicilliger,GrubeBank-vole and Field-miceC. walkeri,Rothsch.Stoats, Voles, and Field-miceC. gallinæ,Schrk.Chickens and many birdsC. fringillæ,Wlk.SparrowC. garei,Rothsch.Many birdsC. rusticus,WagnerHouse-martinC. farreni,Rothsch.House-martinC. hirundinis,Curt.House-martinC. columbæ,Gerv.PigeonC. styx,Rothsch.Sand-martinC. gallinulæ,DaleMany birds: especially freshwater breedersC. vagabundus,BokemanNests of Sea-fowlC. borealis,Rothsch.Gannet and Rock-pipitC. rothschildi,Waterst.House-martinCtenophthalmus,KolenC. agyrtes,HellerField-mice and VolesC. agyrtes nobilis,Rothsch.Water-ratC. bisoctodentatus,KolenMoleDoratopsylla,Jord. and Rothsch.D. dasycnemus,Rothsch.ShrewRhadinopsylla,Jord. and Rothsch.R. pentacanthus,Rothsch.WeaselR. isacanthus,Rothsch.Bank-volePalæopsylla,WagnerP. sorecis,DaleShrewP. minor,DaleMoleP. kohauti,DampfMoleLeptopsylla,Rothsch.L. musculi,DugesMouseL. spectabilis,Rothsch.Bank-voleTyphloceras,WagnerT. poppei,WagnerLong-tailed Field-mouseHystrichopsylla,Taschb.H. talpæ,Curt.MoleIschnopsylla,Westw.I. elongatus,Curt.Noctule BatI. intermedius,Rothsch.Serotine BatI. simplex,Rothsch.Natterer’s BatI. octactenus,KolenPipistrelle BatI. hexactenus,KolenLong-eared BatNycteridopsylla,OudemansN. longiceps,Rothsch.Pipistrelle BatN. eusarca major,Rothsch.Noctule Bat
ab
A LIST OF BRITISH FLEAS AND THEIR HOSTS
A list of the British Fleas (Siphonaptera) revised to March 1913:
acAPPENDIX CON COLLECTING AND PRESERVING FLEASThere are two methods by which fleas may be preserved for study when they have been collected. The first is by keeping the specimens in small tubes of alcohol; the second is by mounting each in Canada balsam on a slide for the microscope. The advantage of the former method is that the material can be used for dissection. The student can do nothing without a microscope, though some of the commoner species can be identified with tolerable certainty by a practised eye which is assisted by a pocket-lens.The tubes are best stored away in a cabinet fitted with wooden shelves and holes to take the tubes like a test-tube holder. Fleas dried and preserved loose in a box, or gummed on card, are useless for purposes of minute examination, and are soon destroyed.Fleas may be collected from the great majority of mammals and birds in almost all parts of the globe. They can be found in the hair and under the feathers, and also in the places where the animals habitually sleep. The best places, from which a plentiful haul may often be obtained, are the holes and nests in which the young have been reared.It is essential to remember, when an animal hasbeen killed, that all the fleas leave as soon as the body of the host gets cold. No time, therefore, should be lost in searching for specimens.If the animal is small enough it may be put into a cardboard box, or a white linen bag, and a few drops of chloroform or benzine can be poured on it. In a short time the fleas will be found dead in the bag or at the bottom of the box. Some may also be found in the hairs and feathers when they are turned back.In the case of a large mammal the hair must be turned backwards shortly after death, when the live fleas may be seen running about and caught. For this purpose a small camel’s hair brush is very useful. If a flea is touched with a brush of this kind which has been dipped in chloroform, benzine, or alcohol, the insect sticks to the brush, but can be easily floated off into the tube of preservative. The best preserving liquid is 50 per cent. alcohol. Methylated spirits can be used. Acetic acid can also be used; but it is objectionable because in a short time it destroys the corks of the tubes.Each tube should only contain the fleas collected from one host, but as many specimens as possible should be secured, because there may be several species of flea on the same host.The tube must be securely corked and labelled, with the date, the locality, and the name of the host.In foreign countries it may not be always easy to do this. In such cases the skin of the host must be preserved with the tube for subsequent identification. A number corresponding to the label on the tube should be attached to the skin of the host.Fleas collected without records of the host from which they were obtained are of little or no scientific value. For this reason a tube should contain the parasites of one host only.A convenient way of preserving records temporarily is to write inpencilon a small piece of paper which can be rolled up and put in the alcohol in the tube.Small mammals generally, including bats, are good hosts; Rodents and Insectivora afford usually the most fruitful captures. In trapping mice and voles only those traps should be used in which the animals are caught alive, or the fleas will have left their hosts before they can be secured and examined. Field-mice caught in the ordinary small penny mouse-trap are often found dead in the morning. The best traps are made on the principle of the ordinary mouse-trap, but larger. A piece of bacon-rind on the hook is a good bait for almost all small mammals. Where a number of traps are put down and left out they should, of course, be visited daily.When a live mouse, or other small mammal of similar size, has been captured it may be transferred from the trap into a small white linen or holland bag.The animal can then be killed by tapping its head or breaking its neck from the outside of the bag. After this has been done, fleas may be searched for in the fashion described above.Most of the small mammals which act as hosts for fleas are nocturnal. The localities where they may be trapped are numberless, but only a small proportion of the captures may yield anything for the flea-collector. I have heard of a collector of small mammals who travelled through remote parts of Spain and never lost an occasion for putting down his traps when he had to change trains at a country railway junction. In England it would, however, seldom be worth doing this, as, on many lines, there is an attempt to make the arrival of one train and the departure of another correspond.The following plan for securing bird-fleas will be found successful. The nests of birds should be taken as soon as the young are fledged and flown. If the nest is small it can be put into a glass-topped box lined with white paper. If too large, the whole nest, or the most firmly matted and dirty part, may be put into a glass globe (such as gold-fish are kept in) and a piece of paper tied over the mouth. From time to time the nest should be slightly damped with water. In every case a label should be put into the receptacle to preserve the name of the bird which built the nest. The bottom of the nest may sometimes be seen to befull of the larval fleas; but in any case fleas will probably emerge from pupæ. The fleas will continue appearing for as much as six weeks or eight weeks after the young birds have left the nest. They must be watched for and taken off the sides and top of the box with a camel’s hair brush dipped in chloroform or benzine. I have seen dozens of fleas come from the nest of a tit (Parus major) in the course of a few weeks. They were all of the common species (C. gallinæ). When the lid of the box is removed it is difficult to prevent a few escaping in the room, but I have never known them cause inconvenience to anyone.Collectors in warm countries should give their attention to the chigoes and their allies, which are of great interest and have been little studied. They are found on mammals and birds in tropical and semi-tropical countries. The males are very difficult to find, but the females are large and very parasitic. They have the appearance of a small wart firmly fixed to the skin. Small mammals may be transferred, with their chigoes attached, to a bottle of alcohol. Many examples of these insects are often found together on the more naked portions of their hosts.
ac
ON COLLECTING AND PRESERVING FLEAS
There are two methods by which fleas may be preserved for study when they have been collected. The first is by keeping the specimens in small tubes of alcohol; the second is by mounting each in Canada balsam on a slide for the microscope. The advantage of the former method is that the material can be used for dissection. The student can do nothing without a microscope, though some of the commoner species can be identified with tolerable certainty by a practised eye which is assisted by a pocket-lens.
The tubes are best stored away in a cabinet fitted with wooden shelves and holes to take the tubes like a test-tube holder. Fleas dried and preserved loose in a box, or gummed on card, are useless for purposes of minute examination, and are soon destroyed.
Fleas may be collected from the great majority of mammals and birds in almost all parts of the globe. They can be found in the hair and under the feathers, and also in the places where the animals habitually sleep. The best places, from which a plentiful haul may often be obtained, are the holes and nests in which the young have been reared.
It is essential to remember, when an animal hasbeen killed, that all the fleas leave as soon as the body of the host gets cold. No time, therefore, should be lost in searching for specimens.
If the animal is small enough it may be put into a cardboard box, or a white linen bag, and a few drops of chloroform or benzine can be poured on it. In a short time the fleas will be found dead in the bag or at the bottom of the box. Some may also be found in the hairs and feathers when they are turned back.
In the case of a large mammal the hair must be turned backwards shortly after death, when the live fleas may be seen running about and caught. For this purpose a small camel’s hair brush is very useful. If a flea is touched with a brush of this kind which has been dipped in chloroform, benzine, or alcohol, the insect sticks to the brush, but can be easily floated off into the tube of preservative. The best preserving liquid is 50 per cent. alcohol. Methylated spirits can be used. Acetic acid can also be used; but it is objectionable because in a short time it destroys the corks of the tubes.
Each tube should only contain the fleas collected from one host, but as many specimens as possible should be secured, because there may be several species of flea on the same host.
The tube must be securely corked and labelled, with the date, the locality, and the name of the host.In foreign countries it may not be always easy to do this. In such cases the skin of the host must be preserved with the tube for subsequent identification. A number corresponding to the label on the tube should be attached to the skin of the host.
Fleas collected without records of the host from which they were obtained are of little or no scientific value. For this reason a tube should contain the parasites of one host only.
A convenient way of preserving records temporarily is to write inpencilon a small piece of paper which can be rolled up and put in the alcohol in the tube.
Small mammals generally, including bats, are good hosts; Rodents and Insectivora afford usually the most fruitful captures. In trapping mice and voles only those traps should be used in which the animals are caught alive, or the fleas will have left their hosts before they can be secured and examined. Field-mice caught in the ordinary small penny mouse-trap are often found dead in the morning. The best traps are made on the principle of the ordinary mouse-trap, but larger. A piece of bacon-rind on the hook is a good bait for almost all small mammals. Where a number of traps are put down and left out they should, of course, be visited daily.
When a live mouse, or other small mammal of similar size, has been captured it may be transferred from the trap into a small white linen or holland bag.The animal can then be killed by tapping its head or breaking its neck from the outside of the bag. After this has been done, fleas may be searched for in the fashion described above.
Most of the small mammals which act as hosts for fleas are nocturnal. The localities where they may be trapped are numberless, but only a small proportion of the captures may yield anything for the flea-collector. I have heard of a collector of small mammals who travelled through remote parts of Spain and never lost an occasion for putting down his traps when he had to change trains at a country railway junction. In England it would, however, seldom be worth doing this, as, on many lines, there is an attempt to make the arrival of one train and the departure of another correspond.
The following plan for securing bird-fleas will be found successful. The nests of birds should be taken as soon as the young are fledged and flown. If the nest is small it can be put into a glass-topped box lined with white paper. If too large, the whole nest, or the most firmly matted and dirty part, may be put into a glass globe (such as gold-fish are kept in) and a piece of paper tied over the mouth. From time to time the nest should be slightly damped with water. In every case a label should be put into the receptacle to preserve the name of the bird which built the nest. The bottom of the nest may sometimes be seen to befull of the larval fleas; but in any case fleas will probably emerge from pupæ. The fleas will continue appearing for as much as six weeks or eight weeks after the young birds have left the nest. They must be watched for and taken off the sides and top of the box with a camel’s hair brush dipped in chloroform or benzine. I have seen dozens of fleas come from the nest of a tit (Parus major) in the course of a few weeks. They were all of the common species (C. gallinæ). When the lid of the box is removed it is difficult to prevent a few escaping in the room, but I have never known them cause inconvenience to anyone.
Collectors in warm countries should give their attention to the chigoes and their allies, which are of great interest and have been little studied. They are found on mammals and birds in tropical and semi-tropical countries. The males are very difficult to find, but the females are large and very parasitic. They have the appearance of a small wart firmly fixed to the skin. Small mammals may be transferred, with their chigoes attached, to a bottle of alcohol. Many examples of these insects are often found together on the more naked portions of their hosts.
adAPPENDIX DBIBLIOGRAPHYA. General Bibliography of the chief and most recent works. Many have bibliographies of earlier works.1.Taschenberg(1880),Die Flöhe. Halle.Although the author only describes 30 species, his book forms the basis of all subsequent scientific work. He divides fleas into (a) chigoes, (b) non-chigoes. Plates. Bibliography. References to 73 earlier writers.2.Karsten(1864),Beitrag zur Kenntniss des Rhyncoprion penetrans.Bull. Soc. Imp., Moscou. Vol.XXXVII., p. 72.A full account of the life and habits of the chigoe. Many references to older writers and travellers.3.Wagner(1889),Aphanipterologische Studien.Hor. Soc. Ent. Ross. Vol.XXIII., p. 199; (1893) Vol.XXVII., p. 347; (1898) Vol.XXXI., p. 539; (1902) Vol.XXXV., p. 17; (1903) Vol.XXXVI., p. 125.A series of learned papers by a professor at the Russian University of Kieff. He has also written in Russian.4.Dampf(1907),Die Ost-und Westpreussische Flohfauna.Schriften der Physik.-ökonom. Gesellschaft zu Königsberg-i-Pr.,XLVIII.Jahrgang, p. 388.Contains an excellent general account of our present knowledge of fleas. Short Bibliography.5.Dampf(1910),Palæaeopsylla Klebsiana n. sp. ein fossiler Floh aus dem baltischen Bernstein. Schriften der Physik.-ökonom. Gesellschaft zu Königsberg-i-Pr., LI. Jahrgang,II. 248.Good plates of the fossil flea in amber.6.Oudemans(1909),Neue Ansichten über die Morphologie des Flohkopfes sowie über die Ontogenie, Phylogenie und Systematik der Flöhe. Novitates Zoologicæ, Vol. 16, p. 133.Suggests a new classification based on the morphology of the head, viz. (1) Integricipita; (2) Fracticipita. By the chief authority on fleas in the Netherlands. He has also written numerous papers in Dutch.7.JordanandRothschild(1908),Revision of the non-combed eyed Siphonaptera. Parasitology, Vol.I., p. 1. Plates. Bibliography.An excellent piece of work, which includes an account of the plague fleas.8.JordanandRothschild(1906),A Revision of the Sarcopsyllidæ. Thompson Yates and Johnston Laboratories Reports, Vol.VII., p. 15. Plates. Bibliography.The best modern account of the chigoes.9.Baker(1904),A revision of American Siphonaptera or Fleas together with a complete list and bibliography of the group. Proc. U.S. National Museum, Vol.XXVII., p. 365. Plates. Bibliography of special papers only.The earlier references, beginning 1699, mostly from Taschenberg.10.Baker(1905),The Classification of the American Siphonaptera. Proc. U.S. National Museum, Vol.XXIX., p. 121.Gives an index of hosts and their fleas. Additional bibliography.11.Rothschild(1898),Contributions to the knowledge of the Siphonaptera. Novitates Zoologicæ, Vol. 5, p. 533; (1900)Further Contributions,etc., Vol. 7, p. 539; (1903) Vol. 10, p. 317; (1904) Vol. 11, p. 602; (1905) Vol. 12, pp. 153 and479; (1907) Vol. 14, p. 329; (1909), Vol. 16, pp. 53, 57, 61, and 332; (1906)Notes on Bat-fleas, Vol. 13, p. 186.These papers contain, for the most part, descriptions of new species in the writer’s collection. Many fine plates illustrating morphology and structure of the external skeleton.B. The following references are to papers on the systematic position of theSiphonapteraand their relationship to other insects.1.Kraepelin(1884),Ueber die systematische Stellung der Puliciden. Hamburg, 1884.2.Packard(1894),The Systematic Position of the Siphonaptera. Proc. Boston Nat. Hist. Society, Vol.XXVI., p. 312.3.Dahl(1897),Puliciphora, eine neue flohänliche Fliegengattung. Zoologischer Anzeiger, Vol.XX., p. 409.4.Wandalleck(1898),Ist die Phylogenese der Aphaniptera entdeckt?Zoologischer Anzeiger, Vol.XXI., p. 180.A humorous reply to Dahl.5.Dahl(1899),Die Stellung der Puliciden im System. Archiv für Naturgeschichte, Vol. 65,I. p. 71. Plates.6.Heymons(1899), Die systematische Stellung der Puliciden. Zoologischer Anzeiger,Vol. XXII., pp. 223 and 301. Three figures.A destructive criticism of the views advanced by Dahl.7.Semenov(1904),Zur Frage der systematischen Stellung der Flöhe. Revue Russe d’Entomologie, Vol.IV., p. 277. In Russian.C. The following references are chiefly to works on plague and fleas.1.Advisory Committee(1905-1909),Reports on Plague Investigations in India. Journal of Hygiene, Vols.V.,VI.,VII.,VIII.andX.These volumes contain the five “Extra Plague Numbers.” Many references to observations and experiments on rats and fleas.2.Hankin(1905),Plague Epidemiology. Journal of Hygiene, Vol. V., p. 48.3.Ogata(1897),Ueber die Pestepidemie in Formosa. Centralbl. für Bacteriol., Vol.XXI., p. 769.4.Simond(1898),La Propagation de la Peste. Annales de l’Institut Pasteur. Vol.XII., p. 625.5.Hankin(1898),La Propagation de la Peste. Annales de l’Institut Pasteur, Vol.XII., p. 705.6.Verjbitski(1908),The part played by insects in the epidemiology of the plague. Journal of Hygiene, Vol.VIII., p. 162.Experiments made 1902-3 at Cronstadt and S. Petersburg with fleas. This important research was written in Russian and not translated or published till 1908.7.Doane(1910),Insects and Disease. Constable and Co.A popular work by an American entomologist. Contains a chapter on fleas and plague. Some good micro-photographs of fleas. Bibliography.
ad
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. General Bibliography of the chief and most recent works. Many have bibliographies of earlier works.
1.Taschenberg(1880),Die Flöhe. Halle.
Although the author only describes 30 species, his book forms the basis of all subsequent scientific work. He divides fleas into (a) chigoes, (b) non-chigoes. Plates. Bibliography. References to 73 earlier writers.
2.Karsten(1864),Beitrag zur Kenntniss des Rhyncoprion penetrans.Bull. Soc. Imp., Moscou. Vol.XXXVII., p. 72.
A full account of the life and habits of the chigoe. Many references to older writers and travellers.
3.Wagner(1889),Aphanipterologische Studien.Hor. Soc. Ent. Ross. Vol.XXIII., p. 199; (1893) Vol.XXVII., p. 347; (1898) Vol.XXXI., p. 539; (1902) Vol.XXXV., p. 17; (1903) Vol.XXXVI., p. 125.
A series of learned papers by a professor at the Russian University of Kieff. He has also written in Russian.
4.Dampf(1907),Die Ost-und Westpreussische Flohfauna.Schriften der Physik.-ökonom. Gesellschaft zu Königsberg-i-Pr.,XLVIII.Jahrgang, p. 388.
Contains an excellent general account of our present knowledge of fleas. Short Bibliography.
5.Dampf(1910),Palæaeopsylla Klebsiana n. sp. ein fossiler Floh aus dem baltischen Bernstein. Schriften der Physik.-ökonom. Gesellschaft zu Königsberg-i-Pr., LI. Jahrgang,II. 248.
Good plates of the fossil flea in amber.
6.Oudemans(1909),Neue Ansichten über die Morphologie des Flohkopfes sowie über die Ontogenie, Phylogenie und Systematik der Flöhe. Novitates Zoologicæ, Vol. 16, p. 133.
Suggests a new classification based on the morphology of the head, viz. (1) Integricipita; (2) Fracticipita. By the chief authority on fleas in the Netherlands. He has also written numerous papers in Dutch.
7.JordanandRothschild(1908),Revision of the non-combed eyed Siphonaptera. Parasitology, Vol.I., p. 1. Plates. Bibliography.
An excellent piece of work, which includes an account of the plague fleas.
8.JordanandRothschild(1906),A Revision of the Sarcopsyllidæ. Thompson Yates and Johnston Laboratories Reports, Vol.VII., p. 15. Plates. Bibliography.
The best modern account of the chigoes.
9.Baker(1904),A revision of American Siphonaptera or Fleas together with a complete list and bibliography of the group. Proc. U.S. National Museum, Vol.XXVII., p. 365. Plates. Bibliography of special papers only.
The earlier references, beginning 1699, mostly from Taschenberg.
10.Baker(1905),The Classification of the American Siphonaptera. Proc. U.S. National Museum, Vol.XXIX., p. 121.
Gives an index of hosts and their fleas. Additional bibliography.
11.Rothschild(1898),Contributions to the knowledge of the Siphonaptera. Novitates Zoologicæ, Vol. 5, p. 533; (1900)Further Contributions,etc., Vol. 7, p. 539; (1903) Vol. 10, p. 317; (1904) Vol. 11, p. 602; (1905) Vol. 12, pp. 153 and479; (1907) Vol. 14, p. 329; (1909), Vol. 16, pp. 53, 57, 61, and 332; (1906)Notes on Bat-fleas, Vol. 13, p. 186.
These papers contain, for the most part, descriptions of new species in the writer’s collection. Many fine plates illustrating morphology and structure of the external skeleton.
B. The following references are to papers on the systematic position of theSiphonapteraand their relationship to other insects.
1.Kraepelin(1884),Ueber die systematische Stellung der Puliciden. Hamburg, 1884.
2.Packard(1894),The Systematic Position of the Siphonaptera. Proc. Boston Nat. Hist. Society, Vol.XXVI., p. 312.
3.Dahl(1897),Puliciphora, eine neue flohänliche Fliegengattung. Zoologischer Anzeiger, Vol.XX., p. 409.
4.Wandalleck(1898),Ist die Phylogenese der Aphaniptera entdeckt?Zoologischer Anzeiger, Vol.XXI., p. 180.
A humorous reply to Dahl.
5.Dahl(1899),Die Stellung der Puliciden im System. Archiv für Naturgeschichte, Vol. 65,I. p. 71. Plates.
6.Heymons(1899), Die systematische Stellung der Puliciden. Zoologischer Anzeiger,Vol. XXII., pp. 223 and 301. Three figures.
A destructive criticism of the views advanced by Dahl.
7.Semenov(1904),Zur Frage der systematischen Stellung der Flöhe. Revue Russe d’Entomologie, Vol.IV., p. 277. In Russian.
C. The following references are chiefly to works on plague and fleas.
1.Advisory Committee(1905-1909),Reports on Plague Investigations in India. Journal of Hygiene, Vols.V.,VI.,VII.,VIII.andX.
These volumes contain the five “Extra Plague Numbers.” Many references to observations and experiments on rats and fleas.
2.Hankin(1905),Plague Epidemiology. Journal of Hygiene, Vol. V., p. 48.
3.Ogata(1897),Ueber die Pestepidemie in Formosa. Centralbl. für Bacteriol., Vol.XXI., p. 769.
4.Simond(1898),La Propagation de la Peste. Annales de l’Institut Pasteur. Vol.XII., p. 625.
5.Hankin(1898),La Propagation de la Peste. Annales de l’Institut Pasteur, Vol.XII., p. 705.
6.Verjbitski(1908),The part played by insects in the epidemiology of the plague. Journal of Hygiene, Vol.VIII., p. 162.
Experiments made 1902-3 at Cronstadt and S. Petersburg with fleas. This important research was written in Russian and not translated or published till 1908.
7.Doane(1910),Insects and Disease. Constable and Co.
A popular work by an American entomologist. Contains a chapter on fleas and plague. Some good micro-photographs of fleas. Bibliography.
indINDEXAbdomen,31Ancestors of fleas,3Antennæ,25,47Aphaniptera,4Aptera,34Arachnids,1Arctomys,95Armadilloes,14Arthropods,1,2Bacillus pestis,84Badger,9,68Baker, Mr Carl,70Bat-fleas,24,106Bat-fleas, head-flaps of,27Bats,12,107Bettongia,15Bibliography,118Black death,86Blood-system,60Blue, Doctor,98Boden, Mr,18Bombay, Plague in,95Brain,45British fleas, list of,110British fleas, number of,11Brown snake,15California, plague in,98Carnivora,14,16Caterpillars, attacked by fleas,18Catesby,75Cat-flea and dog-flea distinct species,70Catholic and Protestant,9Caudal stylets,37Ceratopsyllidæ,17,106,110Ceratophyllus anisus,103C. farreni,11C. fasciatus,89,96,102C. gallinæ,70C. gallinulæ,70C. rothschildi,11C. vagabundus,11Chigoes,74—— on bats,75—— burrowing habits,78—— distribution of,83—— on parrot,75—— pregnant females of,81—— post-oral process of,27—— on rats,101—— rostrum of,77Chitin,21Classification of fleas,17Claws of feet,31Coleoptera,34Collection of fleas,113Combs,26Corsica, fleas attack flies in,19Ctenocephalus canis,8,9,16,63,70C. erinacei,63Ctenophthalmus agyrtes,103C. assimilis,103Dahl,35Dampf,18Dermatophilus cæcata,82D. penetrans,69,74,83Diemenia superciliosa,15Diptera,4,5Dissection,61Distribution,11,12Dog-flea, development of,8Dog-flea and cat-flea distinct species,70Dolichopsyllus stylosus,22Echidna,15Echidnophaga ambulans,15Edentata,14Eggs,5Epidermis,21Epimeron,31Erinaceus,68Excreta,57Eyes,24Field-mouse,9,25Fossil fleas,18,19Fowl-flea,10Fracticipita,110Frontal tubercle,50Fruit-Bats,107Ganglia,45Gannet,11Genitalia,51Gerbillus,68Gizzard,54Gophers,95Ground-squirrels,95,98Guinea-pigs,66,93Gullet,54Hankin,88Hatching spine,5Head,28Hearing,50Heart,60Hedgehog,9Hemiptera,34Heymons,31Hooke, Robert,47Hosts, of British fleas,110—— change of,10—— meaning of,8House-martin,10Human flea, absent from Sahara,64Human flea, from badgers,68Human flea, described,63Human flea, from Mexican Indians,67Human flea, mouth-parts,67Human flea, from New Guinea,65Hypopharynx,39Hystrichopsylla talpæ,22Insectivora,13Integricipita,110Ischnopsylla unipectinata,13Jehangir, Emperor,86Justinian, Emperor,86Kitasato,84Klebs, Professor,19Labial palpi,48Labium,40Labrum,42Larva,5,7,36Leeuwenhoek,38Legs, structure of,30Leptopsylla musculi,89,103Linnæus,4,75Listropsylla,50Macrochiroptera,107Malacopsylla,80M. androcli,14M. grossiventris,14Malpighi,59Malpighian tubes,59Manchuria, plague in,95Mandibles,42,48Marmots,95Marsupials,14Maxillæ,40,48Maxillary palpi,40Metamorphosis,5Microchiroptera,107Monkeys,12Monotremes,15Mouth-parts,39Mouth,54Muscles,33Mus, genus,97Myriapods,1Myrmecobius,15Needles for dissecting,61Nervous system,44Nycteribia,26Ogata,87Orthoptera,34Otospermophilus beecheyi,98Oudemans, his classification,110Ovaries,51Oviedo,74,76Palæopsylla,19Pariodontis riggenbachi,69Penguins,11Performing fleas,72Petrels,11Pharynx,54Pharyngeal pump,54Phoridæ,35Pigeon-flea,10Plague,84Plague and fleas,87—— in Egypt,86—— of London,85—— medieval precautions,21—— transmission of,44Platypsyllus,26Polyctenes,26Protestant and Catholic,9Puffins,11Pulex irritans,4,19,63,75,95Pulicidæ,17,109Pupa,7Pygidium,46,50Rat-fleas,104,105—— and man,101Rats and mice, fleas of,97Rectal glands,57Rectum,57Rectum, discharge of blood from,44Reptile, flea on a,15Rock-pipit,11Rodents,13Rostrum,40Rothschild, Mr Charles,70,101Salivary glands,58,92Samuel, Book of,85Sand-martin,10,11San Francisco, plague in,94Sarcopsyllidæ,17,74,109Seals,14Segmented structure,22Sense organs,49Sexual differences,23,51Sexual organs,51Simond,87Siphonaptera, description of Order,108Size of fleas,22Species, number of,4Spilopsyllus cuniculi,77Spines 23,25Stephanocircus,27Sternites,32Stigmata,59Stomach,56—— bacilli in,93St Paul’s Cathedral,29Sucking, method of,43Suctoria,35Swift, African,11Taste, sense of,50Tergites,32Testes,51Thaumopsylla breviceps,106Thorax,29Tiraboschi, Dr Carlo,70Tracheæ,59Trapping hosts of fleas,113Trichosurus,15Typhloceras poppei,25Ungulates,13Urinary tubules,59Variation, geographical,16Verjbitski,88Vermipsylla, on Ungulates,13Wings, relics of,4,31Woodward, Dr,15Xenopsylla cheopis,11,89,102,104Yersin,84Zoological Gardens, fleas in,16,66CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
ind
Abdomen,31
Ancestors of fleas,3
Antennæ,25,47
Aphaniptera,4
Aptera,34
Arachnids,1
Arctomys,95
Armadilloes,14
Arthropods,1,2
Bacillus pestis,84
Badger,9,68
Baker, Mr Carl,70
Bat-fleas,24,106
Bat-fleas, head-flaps of,27
Bats,12,107
Bettongia,15
Bibliography,118
Black death,86
Blood-system,60
Blue, Doctor,98
Boden, Mr,18
Bombay, Plague in,95
Brain,45
British fleas, list of,110
British fleas, number of,11
Brown snake,15
California, plague in,98
Carnivora,14,16
Caterpillars, attacked by fleas,18
Catesby,75
Cat-flea and dog-flea distinct species,70
Catholic and Protestant,9
Caudal stylets,37
Ceratopsyllidæ,17,106,110
Ceratophyllus anisus,103
C. farreni,11
C. fasciatus,89,96,102
C. gallinæ,70
C. gallinulæ,70
C. rothschildi,11
C. vagabundus,11
Chigoes,74
—— on bats,75
—— burrowing habits,78
—— distribution of,83
—— on parrot,75
—— pregnant females of,81
—— post-oral process of,27
—— on rats,101
—— rostrum of,77
Chitin,21
Classification of fleas,17
Claws of feet,31
Coleoptera,34
Collection of fleas,113
Combs,26
Corsica, fleas attack flies in,19
Ctenocephalus canis,8,9,16,63,70
C. erinacei,63
Ctenophthalmus agyrtes,103
C. assimilis,103
Dahl,35
Dampf,18
Dermatophilus cæcata,82
D. penetrans,69,74,83
Diemenia superciliosa,15
Diptera,4,5
Dissection,61
Distribution,11,12
Dog-flea, development of,8
Dog-flea and cat-flea distinct species,70
Dolichopsyllus stylosus,22
Echidna,15
Echidnophaga ambulans,15
Edentata,14
Eggs,5
Epidermis,21
Epimeron,31
Erinaceus,68
Excreta,57
Eyes,24
Field-mouse,9,25
Fossil fleas,18,19
Fowl-flea,10
Fracticipita,110
Frontal tubercle,50
Fruit-Bats,107
Ganglia,45
Gannet,11
Genitalia,51
Gerbillus,68
Gizzard,54
Gophers,95
Ground-squirrels,95,98
Guinea-pigs,66,93
Gullet,54
Hankin,88
Hatching spine,5
Head,28
Hearing,50
Heart,60
Hedgehog,9
Hemiptera,34
Heymons,31
Hooke, Robert,47
Hosts, of British fleas,110
—— change of,10
—— meaning of,8
House-martin,10
Human flea, absent from Sahara,64
Human flea, from badgers,68
Human flea, described,63
Human flea, from Mexican Indians,67
Human flea, mouth-parts,67
Human flea, from New Guinea,65
Hypopharynx,39
Hystrichopsylla talpæ,22
Insectivora,13
Integricipita,110
Ischnopsylla unipectinata,13
Jehangir, Emperor,86
Justinian, Emperor,86
Kitasato,84
Klebs, Professor,19
Labial palpi,48
Labium,40
Labrum,42
Larva,5,7,36
Leeuwenhoek,38
Legs, structure of,30
Leptopsylla musculi,89,103
Linnæus,4,75
Listropsylla,50
Macrochiroptera,107
Malacopsylla,80
M. androcli,14
M. grossiventris,14
Malpighi,59
Malpighian tubes,59
Manchuria, plague in,95
Mandibles,42,48
Marmots,95
Marsupials,14
Maxillæ,40,48
Maxillary palpi,40
Metamorphosis,5
Microchiroptera,107
Monkeys,12
Monotremes,15
Mouth-parts,39
Mouth,54
Muscles,33
Mus, genus,97
Myriapods,1
Myrmecobius,15
Needles for dissecting,61
Nervous system,44
Nycteribia,26
Ogata,87
Orthoptera,34
Otospermophilus beecheyi,98
Oudemans, his classification,110
Ovaries,51
Oviedo,74,76
Palæopsylla,19
Pariodontis riggenbachi,69
Penguins,11
Performing fleas,72
Petrels,11
Pharynx,54
Pharyngeal pump,54
Phoridæ,35
Pigeon-flea,10
Plague,84
Plague and fleas,87
—— in Egypt,86
—— of London,85
—— medieval precautions,21
—— transmission of,44
Platypsyllus,26
Polyctenes,26
Protestant and Catholic,9
Puffins,11
Pulex irritans,4,19,63,75,95
Pulicidæ,17,109
Pupa,7
Pygidium,46,50
Rat-fleas,104,105
—— and man,101
Rats and mice, fleas of,97
Rectal glands,57
Rectum,57
Rectum, discharge of blood from,44
Reptile, flea on a,15
Rock-pipit,11
Rodents,13
Rostrum,40
Rothschild, Mr Charles,70,101
Salivary glands,58,92
Samuel, Book of,85
Sand-martin,10,11
San Francisco, plague in,94
Sarcopsyllidæ,17,74,109
Seals,14
Segmented structure,22
Sense organs,49
Sexual differences,23,51
Sexual organs,51
Simond,87
Siphonaptera, description of Order,108
Size of fleas,22
Species, number of,4
Spilopsyllus cuniculi,77
Spines 23,25
Stephanocircus,27
Sternites,32
Stigmata,59
Stomach,56
—— bacilli in,93
St Paul’s Cathedral,29
Sucking, method of,43
Suctoria,35
Swift, African,11
Taste, sense of,50
Tergites,32
Testes,51
Thaumopsylla breviceps,106
Thorax,29
Tiraboschi, Dr Carlo,70
Tracheæ,59
Trapping hosts of fleas,113
Trichosurus,15
Typhloceras poppei,25
Ungulates,13
Urinary tubules,59
Variation, geographical,16
Verjbitski,88
Vermipsylla, on Ungulates,13
Wings, relics of,4,31
Woodward, Dr,15
Xenopsylla cheopis,11,89,102,104
Yersin,84
Zoological Gardens, fleas in,16,66
CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS