The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-06-30
KISSING BUG
IS HERE,
It Meets Two Young Peo-
pie Who Are Suffer-
ing From Kissed
Lips.

There's another new bug In town. IL Ia
called the "ki,sing bug and Henry Goult
Of COB Market street and Miss LiIlis Fletch
or of 1923 Fast Fourteenth street have beei
attacked by 1t.
The bug no respector of persons AID
attacks indiscriminately the lucious lip.
ped summer girl or her pas'e sister OF
other summers. Even policeman have
been assaulted while on duty. and the
question OF wearing masks is being care
iully con -idered.
Scientific authorities differ rs to the au-
thcnticitv and ctomolOgists are disposed
to smear at the 'kssing bug
Professor Il. N. Sou hwick entomology
nf the Dcpartne 1T of Public Park New
York City who has spent lifetime study
ing the habits OF living bugs, cbarncte' izes
the panic an.ht the kissing bug Us hum
bug" He l.. incl ned to think the persons
who have been hitten-if they were bitten,
were assnltsd by ultra-poisonuus mosqui-
toes or other bugs.
Curator Schaatfer of the chronological
Mu 'eum of Natural History says ",he mel.
unolcstes picies is near relative to the
stra sberry hug, and ,both have the Same
intensely disagreeable odor The food OF
both is other insects. ! have been study.
ing :his bug for many years, but doubt
very mnch the authority for calling it the
"klssng bug" Ii a word. the.varities Il
the melanUlesteS trbs are branches Of u
family which includes among its degen-
eruUe member: the too common bedblE,
The effect of the bite of this bug will
yield to applications of liquid ammonia
followed by which hazel or u solution OF
laudanuni and water.
j. L. Gordon, well known as u Lrospec-
tor in tho South African gold fields, who
is now in Philadelphia, thinks he has q
clue to The identity of the bug.
"It is of the South African species he
said, "and is closely allied to the 'tsete fly,
of Durham and Natal. Its bite is greatly
droaied BY stockmon, thousands OF cattle
being killed every year. Human belng| are
frequently bitten by the insect. and some
times the injury proves fatal
ia Africa the lsete fly. which greatly
resembles he malnnolests picipss in ap-
pearance, hibprnatos during the chilly
season, and it may possibly have been
brought over here in IN bundle of hides
while in somn mbulistc state. Its
uuusu! activity among the genus homo
may be at ributed 10 tho perponderancn of
dairty. .feminin!ty | have nosirea during
my stay IL increases in numbers with
great rapidity. and | SHOULD recommend
that some active measure bs taken TO sup
press 1t before the pest socures u foot
hold
In the Academy of Natural Sciences, at
Eighteenth and Race atteetS, there are II
Number OF specimens Of the family, redn-
vii,lae, oh OF which hear c!os5 resemblance
10 tho bag Which has jnst arrived Five
OF them are lab,led 'melanole5tes picpcs'
ana wo of the five we captur in Pom
syl"nnih Others have been founl IN Coo. :
gia and Florida, where they infest he
swamp regions. They arc back In co!oE,
iii l,,,r nnliah Tina hand
mates in a long. sharp probossfs, with
which Che insect performs itssoscalatlon'
The entire length is slighhy greater than
one inch. Itis nocturnal vis!tant, ami
is aid to exist in swarms.
DR.. Virgins, of the Pennsylvania Ho
ptal staff has offeseia reward for u live
specimen of the Troublesome picipes. to be
delivered to hiln AZ tin, in itituti III. Ths
Pennsylvania Hospital has hal tho mon
opuly on the bug case and the entire staff
attached thereto have studied everyone
wi h tha pren ta IT. intsrpIt