The Project Gutenberg eBook of Insects and Diseases

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Insects and Diseases

Author: Rennie Wilbur Doane

Release date: February 24, 2009 [eBook #28177]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Lindy Walsh, Greg Bergquist and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INSECTS AND DISEASES ***

Transcriber’s Note

The punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully preserved. Only obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

An artificial lake, nearly dry and partly filled with rubbish, has become a breeding-ground for dangerous mosquitoes.

American Nature Series

Group IV. Working with Nature

INSECTS AND DISEASE

A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THE WAY IN WHICH
INSECTS MAY SPREAD OR CAUSE SOME
OF OUR COMMON DISEASES

WITH MANY ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS FROM
PHOTOGRAPHS

BY
RENNIE W. DOANE, A.B.

Assistant Professor of Entomology
Leland Stanford Junior University

LONDON

CONSTABLE & COMPANY LIMITED

1910

Published August, 1910

THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRESS

RAHWAY, N.J.

PREFACE

The subject of preventive medicine is one that is attracting world-wide attention to-day. We can hardly pick up a newspaper or magazine without seeing the subject discussed in some of its phases, and during the last few years several books have appeared devoted wholly or in part to the ways of preventing rather than curing many of our ills.

Looking over the titles of these articles and books the reader will at once be impressed with the importance that is being given to the subject of the relation of insects to some of our common diseases. As many of these maladies are caused by minute parasites or microbes the zoölogists, biologists and physicians are studying with untiring zeal to learn what they can in regard to the development and habits of these organisms, and the entomologists are doing their part by studying in minute detail the structure and life-history of the insects that are concerned. Thus many important facts are being learned, many important observations made. The results of the best of these investigations are always published in technical magazines or papers that are usually accessible only to the specialist.

This little book is an attempt to bring together and place in untechnical form the most important of these facts gathered from sources many of which are at present inaccessible to the general reader, perhaps even to many physicians and entomologists.

In order that the reader who is not a specialist in medicine or entomology may more readily understand the intimate biological relations of the animals and parasites to be discussed it seems desirable to call attention first to their systematic relations and to review some of the important general facts in regard to their structure and life-history. This, it is believed, will make even the most complex special interrelations of some of these organisms readily understandable by all. Those who are already more or less familiar with these things may find the bibliography of use for more extended reading.

My thanks are due to Prof. V.L. Kellogg for reading the manuscript and offering helpful suggestions and criticisms.

Unless otherwise credited the pictures are from photographs taken by the author in the laboratory and field. As many of these are pictures of live specimens it is believed that they will be of interest as showing the insects, not as we think they should be, but as they actually are. Mr. J.H. Paine has given me valuable aid in preparing these photographs.

R.W.D.

Stanford University, California,

March, 1910.

CHAPTER I
PAGE
Parasitism and Disease	1
Definition of a parasite, 1; examples among various animals, 2; Parasitism, 3; effect on the parasite, 4; how a harmless kind may become harmful, 5; immunity, 6; Diseases caused by parasites, 7; ancient and modern views, 7; Infectious and contagious diseases, 8; examples, 9; importance of distinguishing, 9; Effect of the parasite on the host, 9; microbes everywhere, 10; importance of size, 11; numbers, 11; location, 11; mechanical injury, 12; morphological injury, 13; physiological effect, 13; the point of view, 14.
CHAPTER II
Bacteria and Protozoa	15
Bacteria, 15; border line between plants and animals, 15; most bacteria not harmful, 15; a few cause disease, 15; how they multiply, 15; parasitic and non-parasitic kinds, 17; how a kind normally harmless may become harmful, 18; effect of the bacteria on the host, 18; methods of dissemination, 18; Protozoa, 19; Amœba, 19; its lack of special organs, 19; where it lives, 19; growth and reproduction, 19; Classes of Protozoa, 20; the amœba-like forms, 20; the flagellate forms, 20; importance of these, 21; the ciliated forms, 22; the Sporozoa or spore-forming kinds, 22; these most important, 23; abundance, 23; adaptability, 23; common characters, 24; ability to resist unfavorable conditions, 24.
CHAPTER III
Ticks and Mites	26
Ticks, 26; general characters, 27; mouth-parts, 27; habits, 27; life-history, 27; Ticks and disease, 28; Texas fever, 28; its occurrence in the north, 28; carried by a tick, 29; loss and methods of control, 31; other diseases of cattle carried by ticks, 31; Rocky Mountain spotted fever, 32; its occurrence, 32; probably caused by parasites, 32; relation of ticks to this disease, 33; Relapsing Fever, 33; its occurrence, 34; transmitted by ticks, 34; Mites, 35; Face-mites, 35; Itch-mites, 36; Harvest-mites, 37.
CHAPTER IV
How Insects Cause or Carry Disease	40
Numbers, 40; importance, 41; losses caused by insects, 41; loss of life, 42; The flies, 43; horse-flies, 43; stable-flies, 44; surra, 45; nagana, 45; black-flies, 46; punkies, 46; screw-worm flies, 47; blow-flies, 48; flesh-flies, 48; fly larvæ in intestinal canal, 49; bot-flies, 50; Fleas, 52; jigger-flea, 53; Bedbugs, 54; Lice, 54; How insects may carry disease, 55; in a mechanical way, 55; as one of the necessary hosts of the parasite, 56.
CHAPTER V
House-flies or Typhoid-flies	57
The old attitude toward the house-fly, 57; its present standing, 58; reasons for the change, 58; Structure, 59; head and mouth-parts, 60; thorax and wings, 61; feet, 62; How they carry bacteria, 62; Life-history, 63; eggs, 63; ordinarily laid in manure, 63; other places, 63; habits of the larvæ, 64; habits of the adults, 64; places they visit, 65; Flies and typhoid, 65; patients carrying the germs before and after they have had the disease, 65; how the flies get these on their body and distribute them, 66; results of some observations and experiments, 66; Flies and other diseases, 68; flies and cholera, 68; flies and tuberculosis, 69; possibility of their carrying other diseases, 70; Fighting flies, 71; screens not sufficient, 71; the larger problem, 71; the manure pile, 72; outdoor privies, 72; garbage can, 72; coöperation necessary, 72; city ordinances, 73; an expert's opinion of the house-fly, 73; Other flies, 75; habits of several much the same but do not enter house as much, 75; the small house-fly, 75; stable-flies, 75; these may spread disease, 75.
CHAPTER VI
Mosquitoes	76
Numbers, 76; interest and importance, 76; eggs, 77; always in water, 77; time of hatching, 77; Larvæ, 78; live only in water, 78; head and mouth-parts of larvæ, 78; what they feed on, 78; breathing apparatus, 79; growth of the larvæ, 80; Pupæ, 80; active but takes no food, 80; breathing tubes, 80; how the adult issues, 81; The Adult, 81; male and female, 81; how mosquitoes "sing" and how the song is heard, 82; the palpi, 82; The Mouth-parts, 83; needles for piercing, 83; How the mosquito bites, 84; secretion from the salivary gland, 84; why males cannot bite, 84; blood not necessary for either sex, 84; The Thorax, 85; the legs, 85; the wings, 85; the balancers, 85; the breathing pores, 86; The abdomen, 86; The digestive system, 86; The salivary glands, 87; their importance, 87; effects of a mosquito bite, 87; probable function of the saliva, 88; How mosquitoes breathe, 89; Blood, 90; in body cavity, 90; heart, 90; Classification, 91; Anopheles, 91; distinguishing characters, 92; eggs, 92; where the larvæ are found, 93; Yellow fever mosquito, 94; its importance, 94; the adult, 95; habits, 95; habits of the larvæ, 95; Other species, 96; some in fresh water, others in brackish water, 96; Natural enemies of mosquitoes, 97; how natural enemies of mosquitoes control their numbers, 98; mosquitoes in Hawaii, 98; Enemies of the adults, 99; Enemies of the larvæ and pupæ, 100; Fighting mosquitoes, 101; fighting the adult, 102; Fighting the larvæ, 103; domestic or local species, 104; draining and treating with oil, 104; combatting salt-marsh species by draining, 105; by minnows or oil, 105.
CHAPTER VII
Mosquitoes and Malaria	106
Early reference to malaria, 106; its general distribution, 106; theories in regard to its cause, 107; insects early suspected, 107; The parasite that causes malaria, 108; studies of the parasite, 108; Life-history in human host, 109; its effect on the host, 110; the search for the sexual generation, 111; The parasite in the mosquito, 112; review of whole life-history, 115; malaria transmitted only by mosquitoes, 115; Summary, 117; experimental proof, 118.
CHAPTER VIII
Mosquitoes and Yellow Fever	120
A disease of tropical or semi-tropical countries, 120; outbreaks in the United States, 120; parasite that causes the disease not known, 121; formerly regarded as a contagious disease, 122; The yellow fever commission, 123; Dr. Finlay's claim, 124; experiments made by the commission, 125; summary of results, 129; what it means, 130; results in Havana, 131; the fight in New Orleans, 132; In the Panama canal zone, 135; in Rio de Janeiro, 136; claims of the French commission, 138; habits of stegomyia, 139; breeding habits, 139; possible results of war against the mosquitoes, 139; Danger of this disease in the Pacific Islands, 140.
CHAPTER IX
Fleas and Plague	142
Great scourges, 142; the "black death," 142; old conditions and new, 143; How plague was controlled in San Francisco, 143; Indian Plague commission, 144; Dr. Simond's claim, 145; The advisory committee and the new commission, 146; Results of Dr. Verjbitski's experiments, 147; Results of various investigations, 150; structure and habits of fleas, 151; feeding habits, 152; Common species of fleas, 153; Ground squirrels and plague, 155; squirrel fleas, 156; Remedies for fleas, 157; cats and dogs, 159.
CHAPTER X
Other Diseases, Mostly Tropical, Known or Thought to Be Transmitted by Insects	161
Sleeping Sickness, 161; its occurrence in Africa, 161; caused by a Protozoan parasite, 162; the tsetse-fly, 163; Elephantiasis, 164; caused by parasitic worms, 164; their development, 165; how they are transferred to man, 165; effect on the patient, 166; Dengue, 168; other names, 168; probably transmitted by mosquitoes, 170; Mediterranean fever, 171; cause, 171; may be conveyed by mosquitoes, 171; Leprosy, 171; caused by a bacteria parasite, 171; possibilities of flies, mosquitoes and other insects transmitting the disease, 172; Kala-azar, 173; transmitted by the bedbug, 173; Oriental sore, 174; the parasite may be carried by insects, 174.
Bibliography	175
Parasites and parasitism, 175; Protozoa, 176; Bacteria, 177; Insects and disease, 178; Mosquitoes—systematic and general, 179; Mosquito anatomy, 182; Mosquitoes—life-history and habits, 183; Mosquito fighting, 183; Mosquitoes and disease, 185; Malaria, 186; Yellow fever, 189; Dengue, 192; Filarial diseases and elephantiasis, 193; Leprosy, 193; Plague, 194; Fleas, 198; Typhoid fever, 199; House-flies—anatomy, life-history, habits, 200; House-flies and typhoid, 202; House-fly and various diseases, 203; Human myiasis, 207; Stomoxys and other flies, 208; tsetse-flies, 209; Trypanosomes and Trypanosomiasis, 210; Sleeping sickness, 211; Rocky mountain fever and ticks, 212; Ticks and various diseases, 213; Kala-azar and bedbugs, 216; Text or reference books, 216; Miscellaneous articles, 218.

ILLUSTRATIONS

	An artificial lake, nearly dry and partly filled with rubbish, has become a breeding-ground for dangerous mosquitoes	Frontispiece
		PAGE
Fig. 1.	A lamprey	2
Fig. 2.	Sacculina	2
Fig. 3.	Trichina spiralis	2
Fig. 4.	An external parasite, a bird-louse (Lipeurus ferox)	3
Fig. 5.	An internal parasite, a tachina fly (Blepharipeza adusta)	3
Fig. 6.	Work of an internal parasite, puss-moth larva parasitized by a small ichneumon fly	3
Fig. 7.	Typhoid fever bacilli	20
Fig. 8.	Amœba	20
Fig. 9.	Euglina virdis	21
Fig. 10.	Spirocheta duttoni	21
Fig. 11.	Paramœcium	22
Fig. 12.	Vorticella	22
Fig. 13.	Pathogenic protozoa; a group of intestinal parasites	22
Fig. 14.	Castor-bean tick (Ixodes ricinus)	28
Fig. 15.	Texas fever tick	28
Fig. 16.	Texas fever tick (Margaropus annulatus)	29
Fig. 17.	Amblyomma variegatum	29
Fig. 18.	Ornithodoros moubata	36
Fig. 19.	The follicle mite (Demodex folliculorum)	36
Fig. 20.	Itch-mite (Sarcoptes scabiei)	37
Fig. 21.	Harvest-mites or "jiggers"	37
Fig. 22.	Horse-fly (Tabanus punctifer)	44
Fig. 23.	Stable-fly (Stomoxys calcitrans)	44
Fig. 24.	A black-fly (Simulium sp.)	45
Fig. 25.	Screw-worm fly (Chrysomyia macellaria)	45
Fig. 26.	Blow-fly (Calliphora vomitoria)	45
Fig. 27.	Blue-bottle fly (Lucilia sericata)	50
Fig. 28.	Flesh-fly (Sarcophaga sp.)	50
Fig. 29.	"The little house-fly" (Homalomyia canicularis)	51
Fig. 30.	Horse bot-fly (Gastrophilus equi.)	51
Fig. 31.	Oxwarble fly (Hypoderma lineata)	51
Fig. 32.	Sheep bot-fly (Gastrophilus nasalis)	51
Fig. 33.	Chigo or jigger-flea, male (Dermatophilus penetrans)	54
Fig. 34.	Chigo, female distended with eggs	54
Fig. 35.	Bedbug (Cimex lectularis)	55
Fig. 36.	Body-louse (Pediculus vestimenti)	55
Fig. 37.	One use for the house-fly	57
Fig. 38.	The house-fly (Musca domestica)	58
Fig. 39.	Head of house-fly showing eyes, antennæ and mouth-parts	60
Fig. 40.	Proboscis of house-fly, side view	60
Fig. 41.	Lobes at end of proboscis of house-fly showing corrugated ridges	61
Fig. 42.	Wing of house-fly	61
Fig. 43.	Wing of stable-fly (Stomoxys calcitrans)	62
Fig. 44.	Wing of house-fly showing particles of dirt adhering to it	62
Fig. 45.	Last three segments of leg of house-fly	62
Fig. 46.	Foot of house-fly	63
Fig. 47.	Larva of house-fly	63
Fig. 48.	Barn-yard filled with manure	64
Fig. 49.	Dirty stalls	65
Fig. 50.	Pupa of house-fly	76
Fig. 51.	Head of stable-fly	76
Fig. 52.	Mass of mosquito eggs (Theobaldia incidens)	76
Fig. 53.	Mosquito eggs and larvæ (T. incidens)	77
Fig. 54.	Mosquito larva (T. incidens), DORSAL VIEW	77
Fig. 55.	Eggs, larvæ and pupæ of mosquitoes (T. incidens)	78
Fig. 56.	Larva of mosquito (T. incidens)	78
Fig. 57.	Mosquito larvæ and pupæ (T. incidens)	79
Fig. 58.	Anopheles larvæ (A. maculipennis)	79
Fig. 59.	Mosquito pupæ (T. incidens)	80
Fig. 60.	Mosquito pupa (T. incidens)	80
Fig. 61.	Mosquito larvæ and pupæ (T. incidens)	80
Fig. 62.	A female mosquito (T. incidens)	81
Fig. 63.	A male mosquito (T. incidens)	81
Fig. 64.	Head and thorax of female mosquito (Ochlerotatus lativittatus)	82
Fig. 65.	Head and thorax of male mosquito (O. lativittatus)	82
Fig. 66.	Head of female mosquito	83
Fig. 67.	Cross-section of proboscis of female and male mosquito	83
Fig. 68.	Wing of mosquito (O. lativittatus)	86
Fig. 69.	End of mosquito wing highly magnified	86
Fig. 70.	Diagram to show the alimentary canal and salivary glands of a mosquito	87
Fig. 71.	Salivary glands of mosquitoes	87
Fig. 72.	Heads of culicinæ mosquitoes	90
Fig. 73.	Heads of anophelinæ mosquitoes	90
Fig. 74.	Wing of Anopheles maculipennis	90
Fig. 75.	Wing of Theobaldia incidens	90
Fig. 76.	A non-malarial mosquito (T. Incidens), MALE, STANDING ON THE WALL	91
Fig. 77.	Female of same	91
Fig. 78.	A malarial mosquito (A. maculipennis), MALE, STANDING ON THE WALL	91
Fig. 79.	Female of same	91
Fig. 80.	Egg of Anopheles, SIDE VIEW	92
Fig. 81.	Egg of anopheles, dorsal view	92
Fig. 82.	Anopheles larvæ	92
Fig. 83.	Anopheles larvæ	93
Fig. 84.	Anopheles larva, dorsal view	93
Fig. 85.	Anopheles pupæ resting at surface of water	93
Fig. 86.	Salt-marsh mosquito (Ochlerotatus lativittatus); MALE	98
Fig. 87.	Salt-marsh mosquito (O. lativittatus); FEMALE	98
Fig. 88.	Top-minnow (Mollienisia latipinna)	99
Fig. 89.	Dragon-flies	99
Fig. 90.	The Young (nymph) of a dragon-fly	100
Fig. 91.	The cast skin (exuvæ) of a dragon-fly nymph	100
Fig. 92.	Diving-beetles and back-swimmers	101
Fig. 93.	Killifish (Fundulus heteroliatus)	102
Fig. 94.	Stickleback (Apeltes quadracus)	102
Fig. 95.	An old watering-trough, an excellent breeding-place for mosquitoes	103
Fig. 96.	Horse and cattle tracks in mud filled with water	108
Fig. 97.	A malarial mosquito (Anopheles maculipennis)MALE	108
Fig. 98.	A malarial mosquito (A. maculipennis) FEMALE	109
Fig. 99.	Diagram to illustrate the life-history of the malarial parasite	110
Fig. 100.	Malarial mosquito (A. maculipennis) ON THE WALL	111
Fig. 101.	Malarial mosquito (A. maculipennis) STANDING ON A TABLE	111
Fig. 102.	Salt-marsh mosquito (O. lativittatus) STANDING ON A TABLE	118
Fig. 103.	Anopheles hanging from the ceiling	118
Fig. 104.	Yellow fever mosquito (Stegomyia calopus)	122
Fig. 105.	Rat-flea (Læmopsylla cheopis); MALE	152
Fig. 106.	Rat-flea (L. cheopis); FEMALE	152
Fig. 107.	Head of rat-flea showing mouth-parts	153
Fig. 108.	Human-flea (Pulex irritans); MALE	153
Fig. 109.	Human-flea (P. irritans); FEMALE	156
Fig. 110.	Mouse-flea (Ctenopsyllus musculi); FEMALE	156
Fig. 111.	Trypanosoma gambiense	164
Fig. 112.	Tsetse-fly	164