[The strange Hemimeridæ found in West Africa, resembling wingless cockroaches, are parasitic on rats (Cricetomys). Phasmidæ, or stick insects, are said to be able to eject a fluid which may cause blindness if it comes in contact with the eyes.
Locusts Injurious to Man.
[A wingless locust—Enyaliopsis durandi, Luc—is recorded by Wiggins[374] as injurious to man in Uganda. “The bite of this insect,” it is said, “gives rise to a very nasty eruption, which may extend over the whole body, with high temperature and general malaise. The skin at the site of the bite sloughs away, and generally leaves a large deep cavity, which heals very slowly.”
[An allied species—E. petersi, Schaum—emits a clear yellow fluid, but according to Marshall this does no harm.[375] Stannus writes that “for some years I have been cognizant of the fact that among the natives of Nyasaland an allied if not the same species is held to cause skin lesions by the emission of a fluid on the bare skin surface of the body. I have seen cases of ulcers on various parts of the body, for which the ‘nantundua’ was assigned as the cause.” He then describes the destruction of the superficial layers of the skin which he observed after the yellow fluid had been on the skin twelve hours.—F. V. T.]
Order. Coleoptera.
The larvæ of beetles, similarly to those of some other Arthropoda (myriapods and the larvæ of gnats), have sometimes been observed in man as purely accidental guests. In one case or another, such accounts may have originated through a mistake of the observer. Thus English doctors report the presence of the larvæ of Blaps mortisaga in the stools of human beings, Sandberg of the larva of Agrypnus murinus in his ten year old son, and Blanchard mentions the larva of a beetle that was vomited by a child. All these cases, however, do not represent actual parasitism, although there are beetles living parasitically.[376]
Silvanus surinamensis, Linnæus (Saw-toothed Grain Beetle).
[Taschenberg records this beetle as having invaded some sleeping apartments adjoining a brewery where stores were kept, and annoying the sleepers at night by nipping them when in their beds.
[This beetle is common in many parts of the world amongst groceries, corn, meal, seeds, dried fruits, etc. It is about 1/10 in. long, much flattened and chocolate-brown in colour. The thorax has two shallow grooves and bears six minute teeth on each side. The jaws are strong, but the bite cannot be very serious.—F. V. T.]