A Study of Fleas Found on Peromyscus in New York

Abstract

Data are presented on 1,158 fleas collected from Peromyscus spp. in New York State. In order of abundance the species of fleas are: Orchopeas leucopus, Peromyscopsylla hesperomys, Epitedia wenmanni, Stenoponia americana, Ctenophthalmus pseudagyrtes, Peromyscopsylla scotti. Three other species which were taken in small numbers are considered accidental parasites. Data are given on geographical distribution, percentage of infestation, relative numbers, seasonal occurrence and sex ratios of the species of fleas listed. Detailed studies of the ectoparasites of small non-game mammals are rela- tively few. Perhaps the most extensive study of the fleas of a single host is that of Smit (1962), who studied 13,330 fleas collected from European moles, Talpa europaea, in the Netherlands. In this country, the work of Jameson (1950) on ectoparasites of the short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda, is similar, though less extensive. Such studies require large collections of ectoparasites from a limited area. Collections made by mammalogists, incidental to their mammal collections, are often of limited value because data essential to the parasitologist are not available. We were fortunate to have at our disposal extensive collections made during the last decade by the New York State Museum and Science Service in con- nection with mammal surveys. During this same period, students at the State University of New York at Albany have collected under the direction of the senior author. In addition, 619 specimens from Ulster County have been made available to us by Mr. Daniel Smiley. Both the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, and the deermouse, P. maniculatus, are well represented in these collections. Since both of these mice are hosts to several species of fleas, the available material included 1,158 fleas of 9 species collected from Peromyscus. MATERIALS AND METHODS Most of the 1,158 specimens available for study were collected from snap- trapped mammals incidental to mammal studies. Only 115 fleas, taken from 210 P. leucopus, were obtained by livetrapping. Data on fleas per host and percentage of infestation are based on these collections, while other data are based on all specimens for which the necessary information was available. Large collections (200-1,000 fleas per county) were available from Albany, Lewis, Otsego, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Suffolk and Ulster counties. Smaller collections were examined from almost every county in eastern New York, from Cayuga, Wayne and Tompkins counties in central New York, and from Cattaraugus County in western New York. Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis, which occurs throughout the state, was host to well over half of the fleas taken. The only subspecies of P.