( Latin: Carpoglyphus lactis) This is very similar to the flour mite and it also has pinkish legs, but it can be distinguished, amongst other things, by the fact that its body is not divided into two by a transverse line. These mites live mainly in dried fruit, and sometimes in jam. People who work […]
Cheese mite
( Latin: Tyrophagus casei) Cheese mites can also live in corn, flour, etc., but they are best known for their occurrence in cheese, in which they gnaw small holes. A ripe, mite-infested cheese will be more or less covered with a grey powder, which consists of the mites themselves and their moulted skins and faeces. […]
Tyrophagus longior
Latin: Tyrophagus longior This mite is very similar to the preceding species and thrives in the same kind of place. It feeds mainly on moulds which grow on damp goods, but seldom becomes a serious pest.
Flour mite
( Latin: Acarus siro) This is the commonest species of mite in foodstuffs; it has reddish legs. Flour mites can live in almost any kind of flour or in fodder and, not least important, in stores of seed and corn. They are also to be found on old cheese. A single female can lay up […]
Mites
( Latin: Order Acari) Mites of various kinds can thrive in foods which are kept a little too damp. These are tiny animals which look like specks of dust when seen by the naked eye, but when examined more closely, under a lens, they can be seen to move, albeit slowly.
Animals in foods
Ever since our ancestors found out how to keep foods in reserve for bad times, insects and rodents have taken their toll of such stores. The remains of pests of stored products (e.g. flour beetles) have been found in graves from2,500 B.C., and drugstore beetles, spider beetles and tobacco beetles were found in the grave […]
Invertebrates and hygiene
Some of the insects, mites and other arthropods occurring indoors may have a direct or indirect influence on our health and well-being. In other words, they may become a hygiene problem. Invertebrates carrying disease or causing annoyance Some blood-sucking and stinging arthropods may cause pain by their attacks on the skin (see p. 33). Others […]
Prevention of bites and stings
The chances of being attacked by animals that bite or sting are really quite high. It is not possible to provide complete security against such attacks, but certain pre- cautions can be taken, as for example by not bringing old birds’ nests into the house. If one is bitten the first thing to do is […]
Ichneumons
( Latin: genus Ophion ) These insects lay eggs in moth larvae. The adults often enter houses at night, being attracted by the lights. They have a powerful ovipositor which may be long or quite short, according to the species.
Chalcids
These small hymenopterans belong to a group with a very large number of species. Their larvae live as parasites in other insect species. The female inserts an egg into the victim with the help of her ovipositor, and in some cases this organ can also be used as a defensive weapon. The small dark parasitic […]
Bees
Solitary bees (p. 180), honey bees and bumblebees (p. 179) can all sting. The sting of a small solitary bee is normally very mild, but a bumblebee sting may be very painful. On the other hand, it is very unusual for bumblebees to sting and in fact they have to be very severely provoked before […]
Wasps and hornets
A wasp uses its sting for killing prey, but it can also use it very effectively as a defensive weapon. The sting has associated glands which produce venom. A hornet sting can be very painful, but is normally not dangerous, as the amount of venom injected is very small. In some cases, however, people do […]
Forest flies
(Latin: Hippoboscidae) The insects in this family have an unattractive, flat body and a crab-like gait and they cling to their victims with powerful claws. At first sight they do not look very much like flies. They are specialised for living on mammals or birds, where they crawl around in the fur or among the feathers […]
Stable or Biting housefly
( Latin: Stomoxys calcitrans ) In late summer one often hears people saying that the flies have started to bite. This is not because the ordinary houseflies have suddenly changed their habits. It refers to the activities of the stable fly, which is very similar in appearance to the housefly. It can, however, be distinguished by […]
Common gnat
(Latin: Culex pipiens) This small mosquito does not usually bite humans, but evidently prefers the blood of birds. Its habits are more or less the same as those of the preceding species, and specimens may also be found spending the winter in damp cellars, often in quite large numbers.
Theobaldia annulata
(Lat: Culiseta annulata) This is one of two species of mosquito that often occur indoors. It breeds in small bodies of water, and the larva can tolerate water that is somewhat polluted. In fact the larval stages are frequently found in garden ponds, water storage tanks and even in rain butts and blocked gutters. There […]
Malaria mosquito
(Latin: Anopheles maculipennis) This is the malaria mosquito of parts of Europe, including Britain. The larvae live in ponds and lakes with fairly dense vegetation. The indigenous malaria of Britain, commonly known as ague, was transmitted by this insect, and it still occurred in certain coastal districts until about the end of the nineteenth century.
Mosquitoes
( Latin: genus Aedes ) These insects breed mainly in pools and ditches of the kind that fill up with water in the spring months, but dry up later in the year. They have only one generation in the year, which flies in May, normally at the same time as the beech comes into leaf. Some […]
Gnats and mosquitoes
(Latin: Family Culicidae) These insects usually spend their whole lives outdoors, but some enter houses in autumn to spend the winter. They may also come in through open windows during summer and if this causes a serious problem, as it does in the tropics, it may be necessary to fit mosquito netting or at least […]
Fly bug
( Latin: , Reduvius personatus ) The larvae of this bug produce a sticky, oily substance, to which dust and debris adhere, so that they become well camouflaged. The adults, on the other hand, are glossy brownish or dull black. They have well developed wings and fly well. The rostrum or proboscis is very short and […]
Debris bug
(Latin: Lyctocoris campestris) This bug also comes from birds’ nests where it lives as a predator on the numerous small invertebrates, such as moth larvae, which feed on the debris that accumulates in the nests. Like the martin bug it may occasionally find its way into the house and may sometimes attack people when they […]
Bat bug
( Latin: Cimex pipistrelli ) This species may occur in lofts where bats roost.
Bed bug
(Latin: Cimex lectularius) Unlike most other bugs, the bed bug is wingless. When it has not recently fed its body is paper-thin, and almost red-brown. So far as is known bed bugs originated from Asia, but they have now spread to all parts of the world. They were well known in ancient times in the […]
True bugs
(Latin: Hemiptera) Bugs are insects which, among other features, have powerful, piercing mouth parts. The majority of the species live outdoors and suck the juices of plants, but there are a few which are predatory or parasitic, and of these one has adapted to living indoors.
Cat flea, dog flea
( Latin: Ctenocephalides felis, ctenocephalides canis) Cat and dog fleas are very similar in appearance and both species can live on both dogs and cats. Humans are mainly attacked by cat fleas.A cat or a dog may have a light infection of fleas without the human inhabitants of the house noticing, but if the domestic […]
Human flea
(Latin: Pulex irritans) The human flea has become a rather rare insect, but in former times it was the constant companion of men of all classes. At one time the Chinese and others used flea traps made of ivory or bamboo which were gently warmed and placed between the sheets before they went to bed, […]
Fleas
( Latin: Order Siphonaptera) Fleas are extremely well adapted for their special way of life. The hard, tough, chitin exoskeleton makes it almost impossible to squash them and the tall, thin body allows them to move about very rapidly among hairs or feathers. If all else fails, a flea can jump up to about 30 cm.. […]
Biting lice
( Latin: Mallophaga ) These insects are somewhat similar in appearance to the true lice, but the head is broader, they usually have two claws on each leg, and they do not suck blood.They feed by gnawing fur and feathers and also scraps of skins. They do not affect man. Biting lice attach their eggs firmly […]
Dog louse
( Latin: Linognathus setosus ) Although very similar to the human louse, there is very little chance of a human becoming infested with dog lice. Like their relatives these parasites are very much tied to their own specific host. They mostly live on the back, flanks and at the root of the tail of dogs. In […]
Crab louse
(Latin: Phthirius pubis) A crab louse is almost as broad as it is long. Its ‘claws’ are extraordinarily well developed and together with the shape of the body give it a crab-like appearance. Its preferred habitat is among the body hairs and particularly among the pubic hairs. The large claws are well adapted for gripping […]