I do not speak of the legions of parasites and insects, of the acarus, the phylloxera, and the microscopic beings which drained the blood, the sweat, and the life of man, inoculating him with typhus, plague, and cholera.
"Underground Man"
Gabriel Tarde
The acarus, at first supposed to be a new and hitherto unknown creature, is now acknowledged to be one of a very familiar species,-a species which may have deposited its ova, and propagated its kind, since the commencement of the present order of things, and whose eggs might very well resist the action even of nitrate of copper, since the creature itself could live in that poisonous mixture.
"Modern Atheism under its forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Development, and Natural Laws"
James Buchanan
Another pest, called the "acarus," feeds on the paste and glue in the binding; in fact, these two parasites between them will very quickly digest the contents of an ordinary-sized book unless steps are taken for their destruction.
"Book Collecting A Guide for Amateurs"
John Herbert Slater