LESIONS DUE TO THE BITE OF THE WHEEL-BUG, ARILUS CRISTATUS (HEMIPTERA; REDUVIIDAE)

In the fall of 1922, my youngest daughter (M.L.H.), aged 10, captured a wheel-bug, Arilus cristatus (determined by W. L. McAtee), at Chevy Chase, D. C., and was bitten twice by it on the inner aspect of the little finger of the right hand at a point near the nail. The finger became reddened and felt hot to the touch. In the course of a few days, growths resembling papillomas developed at the sites of the punctures, the largest of these projecting as a small hornlike structure. Both of these growths persisted for months, the largest slowly disappearing between six and nine months after the infliction of the bite. The injured finger remained warmer than the other fingers during this period, and, according to the patient's statement, still feels warmer than the other fingers, a year later. The development of pronounced cutaneous growths after a bite appears indicative of the