Fleas Associated with Nests of the Desert Wood Rat

Abstract

The desert wood rat, Neotoiza lepida lepida Thomas, is ordinarily associated ecologically with the pigmy juniper forest commnunities in the Great Basin of Utah. The house of the rodent usually consists of a collection of juniper sticks and other available debris, and is situated at the base of a juniper, above ground in crotches of the juniper, or occasionally in cliffs or bushes. The nest (or nests) is located in the house for protection (Vestal, 1938). The soft, fluffy nest material provides a suitable habitat for many small conmmensals and ectoparasites. This article is a report of the fleas collected during a year-long study of wood rat nests at Dugway, Utah. The collections were made by Dr. Dorald M. Allred and associates: Ernest J. Roscoe, William J. Bacha, John Smith, Zelda Rottenberg, Mark Rosasco and Dr. Stanley B. Mulaik. Specimens were identified by members of the staff, but those of the genus Thrassis were sent to Harold E. Stark and Frank M. Prince, San Francisco Field Station, U. S. Public Health Service, for identification. The pulblications of Hubbard (1947) and Holland (1949) have proved useful as background material. This study is the fourth of a series of local investigations into the ecology of the desert wood rat nests. The first three consist of: (1) A study by Beck, Barnum and Moore (1953) which reported on fleas and other consortes found in wood rat nests in parts of Utah, including a few nests from the region near Jericho, Juab County, Utah; (2) Studies by the author (Howell, 1955) in which the host-flea relationships foulnd in the nests in the Tericho area were analyzed; (3) An unpublished study of the ecology of the fauna of wood rat nests in the Cedar Mountains, Dugway, Utah, about 50 miles northeast of Jericho, made by Allred and Roscoe, dealing with the mites taken from these nests. An article by Howell, Allred and Beck, to be published, analyzes seasonal fluctuations of mites found in wood rat nests.