Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Preface; Acknowledgements; Contents; Introduction; 1 The World of Insects and Mites; Abundance; Size; Size and the Environment; 2 Origin and Evolution of Insects and Mites; The Arthropod Family Tree; Evolution of Mites; Evolution of the Ectoparasites; The Pre-historical Evolution of Bugs; The Pre-historical Evolution of Lice; The Pre-historic Evolution of the Itch Mite; 3 The Harmful Effects of Parasites; Ectoparasites as Disease Vectors; Louse-borne Relapsing Fever; Fleas and Plague; Allergic Skin Reactions; Loss of Blood, etc., to Parasites.

Normal Disgust and Neurotic Abhorrence4 The Prevalence of Ectoparasites in Different Epochs; Ancient and Classical Times; Late Mediaeval and Renaissance; The Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries; Modern Times; 5 Human Reactions to Ectoparasites; Personal Hygiene and Propriety; Insects and Hygiene; Vermin and Virtue; Ectoparasites Considered as Divine Afflictions and as Morbid Curiosities; Fleas and Moral Precepts; Insect Vermin and Weather Vanes; Lice and Love: Fleas and Fleshy Fantasies; Epitaphs for Insect Vermin; Fleas as Puppets and Performers.

6 Ectoparasites as Objects of Scientific CuriosityClassical Times; The Dark Ages; Arabian Interlude; The Late Middle Ages: Scholasticism; The Renaissance; The Seventeenth-Century Watershed; Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries; The Modern Era; Systematics and Morphology; Bionomics; Biological Peculiarities; 7 Medical Aspects of Ectoparasites; VERMIN AS MEDICINE; REMEDIES FOR ECTOPARASITES; Cleanliness; Magic and Religion; Trapping; Insecticidal Substances; PHTHIRIASIS OR THE LOUSY DISEASE; THE SCABIES STORY; ECTOPARASITES AS DISEASE VECTORS.

A Brief Account of Early Ideas on the Spread of PestilenceThe Elucidation of Plague; The Elucidation of Typhus; The Elucidation of Louse-borne Relapsing Fever; References; Index of Persons; Subject Index.