[This species reproduces more rapidly than other lice, and is communicated much more freely. The eggs are often laid singly attached to the hairs near their apex. It is known as the “crab louse.”—F. V. T.]
(b) Rhyncota hemiptera.
Family. Acanthiadæ.
Body flattened, antennæ four-jointed, rostrum three-jointed, wings atrophied.
[This family, the Cimicidæ, includes the bed bugs; the proboscis, which lies in a groove, is of three segments; the front wings are shown by two small elytra, there is no trace of hind wings. Two species are known commonly to attack man.—F. V. T.]
Genus. Cimex, Linnæus.
Cimex lectularius, Linnæus.
Syn.: Acanthia lectularia, Fabricius, 1794.
It measures 4 to 5 mm. in length, 3 mm. in breadth; brownish-red; eight abdominal segments. The female deposits fifty whitish eggs at a time (1·12 mm. in length) three or four times a year; the entire development up to complete maturity takes about eleven months. [They will breed all the year round, but less so in cold weather.—F. V. T.]