FARM STOCK AND THEIR PARASITES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 628, 17 December 1913, Page 6

FARM STOCK AND THEIR PARASITES.

One of the most troublesome of live stock where parasitism is concerned 1b the sheep. The thick fleece can hide cjuntless numbers of keds and mites, whose productive capacity is enormous, and it will be seen that the lot of the sheep is not altogether a happy one, when it is stated that twenty pests can be comfortably accommodated on a single fibre of wool. One of these, the ked, has a peculiar life history. It does not deposit eggs, they are hatched within the ked, and when the larvae are evolved they lie practically dormant for a few days. Then they pupate for a brief period, and begin their attacks on the host. The fully-developed ked is a formid-able-looking insect. Two sharp blade 3 protrude from the mouth. These pierce the skin near the roots ot the hairs, and a suctorial tube is plunged into the orifice, whence blood is drawn. It is provided with gripping talons to enable it to run quickly among hairs, and is not particularly easy to capture. It 3 body is covered with minute filaments and spiracles for "breathing." The common flea is one of the worst parasites of farm stock in Great Britain. Some interesting facts are given it by a writer in the "Farm, Field and Fireside," The following is an extract: — "Here, where old hay and straw have lain for a time, we may root out a handful and find a cluster of whits viscid specks—eggs laid by the female flea. "Six days only are sufficient for the hatching, an] a colony of larvae, blind and limbless, crawl forth with remarkable agility, nibbling at everything in their way for food. These mierocsopic maggots spin their own cocoons finer than the finest silken thread, and enter upon their pupal stage. "For two weeks they remain as if dead —dull grey specks which would readily be mistaken for mere atoms of datth. But they are much alive, and suddenly fracture their fragile shell to pour forth ravenous appetites on the nearest animal Sting?, suckers, coxoe and femora, with their strong muscles, are fully developed; the pets begins its attack and never ceases till the minute of its death.

"Pulex is essentially a blood-sucker. About the hair roots it fixes its talons, gnaws and pierces the skin with its dart, sucking the life blood of its host with every plunge. If disturbed it will suddenly rush forward and resume the attack with greater ferocity."