Fleas and Lice United States of Mammals in Department of Agriculture Forest Service New Mexico Rocky Mountain Research Station General Technical Paulette L. Ford Report RMRS-GTR-123 Richard A. Fagerlund February 2004 Donald W. Duszynski Paul J. Polechla Ford, Paulette L.; Fagerlund, Richard A.; Duszynski, Donald W.; Polechla, Paul J. 2004. Fleas and lice of mammals in New Mexico. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-123. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 57 p. Abstract All available records are compiled for three orders of ectoparasites of mammals in New Mexico: fleas (Siphonaptera), sucking lice (Anoplura), and chewing lice (Mallophaga). We have drawn from records at the University of New Mexico’s Museum of Southwestern Biology, the Vector Control Program of the New Mexico Environment Department, the Environmental Health Department of the City of Albuquerque, and several private collections. We list 99 species of fleas, 27 species of sucking lice, and two species of chewing lice. Included are appendices that list recorded ectoparasite species and their hosts in New Mexico and the coun- ties associated with host ectoparasite infestations. We report at least four new state host records for fleas. Keywords: Anoplura, chewing lice, ectoparasite, flea, lice, louse, Mallophaga, New Mexico mammalian hosts, Siphonaptera, sucking lice The Authors Paulette Ford is a Research Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, in Albuquerque, NM. She holds an M.S. in biology from the University of New Mexico and a Ph.D. in Renewable Natural Resources from the University of Arizona. She has worked extensively in Latin America and the American Southwest on research ranging from the systematics of parasites and amphibians to small mam- mal and amphibian community structures in deserts, grasslands, and tropical deciduous forests. Richard Fagerlund is an Integrated Pest Management Coordinator with the University of New Mexico. He current- ly has a newspaper column in the Albuquerque Tribune on pest control and is the author of four books on in- sects. Donald Duszynski is a Professor of Biology at the University of New Mexico. He has an M.S. and Ph.D. from the Department of Zoology at Colorado State University. He has been at UNM since 1970 and specializes in endoparasites of wild mammals, especially the coccidian or parasitic protists. Paul Polechla is a Research Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico in the biology department’s Museum of Southwestern Biology Mammal Division. He earned his M.S. at Eastern New Mexico University and his Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas. He was a member of the Southwestern Zoonotic Disease Program (1996-2000) studying hantavirus and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) ecology. His interests are mammalian ecology with an emphasis on predator-prey and host-parasite relationships. cover illustrations by: Johnna Autumn Strange. Louse (upper), flea (lower). You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please specify the publication title and series number. Fort Collins Service Center Telephone (970) 498-1392 FAX (970) 498-1396 E-mail [email protected] Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/rm Mailing address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 West Prospect Road Fort Collins, CO 80526 Rocky Mountain Research Station Natural Resources Research Center 2150 Centre Avenue, Building A Fort Collins, CO 80526 Contents Acknowledgments . ii Introduction . 1 Fleas (Order Siphonaptera). 2 General . 2 Development . 2 Diseases Carried/Caused/Transmitted . 2 Control . 4 Sucking Lice (Order Anoplura) . 4 General . 4 Development . 5 Diseases Carried/Caused/Transmitted . 5 Control . 6 Chewing Lice (Order Mallophaga). 6 General . 6 Development . 6 Diseases Carried/Caused/Transmitted . 6 Control . 7 Guide to Checklist Format. 8 Host List—New Mexico Mammals and Their Ectoparasites . 9 Order Artiodactyla . 9 Order Carnivora. 9 Order Chiroptera . 12 Order Insectivora . 13 Order Lagomorpha . 13 Order Perissodactyla . 16 Order Primates . 16 Order Rodentia . 17 References . 39 Appendix A. New Mexico Ectoparasites and Their Mammal Hosts. 42 Order Siphonaptera (Fleas). 42 Order Anoplura (Sucking Lice) . 49 Order Mallophaga (Chewing Lice). 50 Appendix B. New Mexico County Records . 51 Fleas (Siphonaptera) . 51 Lice (Order Anoplura and Order Mallophaga) . 56 Acknowledgments We wish to thank the following people and institutions: Sandra Brantley for her extensive work with the manu- script and the arthropod collections; Lee Couch for compiling the data, editing, and organizing the final man- uscript; Dawn Chen Sun for reviewing the reference material used in the manuscript; Clifford Crawford, Lane Eskew, and Deborah Finch for reviewing multiple drafts of the manuscript and making many valuable sug- gestions; and Terrence Enk, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, for specific consultation. Thanks to Ted Brown and Pamela Reynolds, New Mexico Environment Department; New Mexico Environment Department’s Vector Control Program; Rudy Bueno, City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department; Cheryl Parmenter and Kim Heckscher-Decker, Department of Biology, UNM and the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program; Dwayne Salazar, DJ’s Pest Control, Albuquerque, NM; and David C. Lightfoot, Sevilleta LTER, Jornada LTER, and Bandelier National Monument for supplying information, spec- imens, and identifications. We also thank Terry Yates, principal investigator of the small mammal hantavirus studies and Jon Dunnum, Brian Frank, W. Scott Knapp, Kimberly Leuthner, and Todd Meinecke for assis- tance in trapping small mammals that supplied specimens; Peggy Case for contributing ectoparasites from lagomorphs; and the Bureau of Land Management, the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Bureau of Indian Affairs for funding mammal studies that contribut- ed data to this document. This manuscript is dedicated to Michael J. Patrick, assistant professor of biology at Pennsylvania State University, who contributed many of the host animals and flea descriptions that are includ- ed in the checklist. Dr. Patrick died 10 March 2000. ii USDA Forest Service RMRS-GTR-123. 2004 1 Fleas and Lice From Mammals in New Mexico Paulette L. Ford, Richard A. Fagerlund, Donald W. Duszynski, and Paul J. Polechla Introduction Of the 150 mammal species in New Mexico that po- tentially act as host to one or more species of fleas and lice, only 82 are documented to host these ectoparasites. The purpose of this work is to provide baseline data These reports are widespread temporally and geographi- of what is known and can be documented about the fleas cally, and most represent only one collection event from and lice of New Mexico mammals. Within that context, one locality. A total of 99 species of fleas, 27 species we summarize the publications on this topic, document of sucking lice, and two species of chewing lice are the fleas and lice that are accessioned into the Arthropod known and documented from New Mexico mammals. Division of the University of New Mexico’s Museum However, should every mammal species be thoroughly of Southwestern Biology (UNM-MSB), and provide surveyed throughout its known range, the number of flea some general information about the biology of fleas and and lice species on New Mexico mammals would clear- lice and the potential disease agents they may transmit ly be much higher than this. For example, we already to other mammals in New Mexico, including humans. have documented that at least 29 New Mexico mammals Since infestations of fleas, sucking lice, and chewing have 10 or more species of fleas recorded from them. lice in humans, domesticated animals, and wildlife may For these reasons, it is clear that the study of the mam- lead to discomfort, debilitating disease, and/or death, malian fleas and lice parasitizing New Mexico mam- this information has implications for, but not limited to, mals is in need of attention. federal, state, and private land managers, scientists, pub- Vertebrate biologists, who work in the field in New lic health officials, and the general public. Mexico, can play a pivotal role in our understanding of New Mexico has the distinction of having one of the the diversity and distribution of ectoparasites infesting highest diversities of land mammals in the United States. this state’s mammal (and other terrestrial vertebrate) There are approximately 150 extant, native mammal spe- populations by properly collecting specimens from cies representing eight orders, 25 families, and 71 gen- study animals. The methods for collecting and preserv- era in the state (Frey and Yates 1996). The potential for ing ectoparasites in the field are simple yet important: flea and louse diversity is, therefore, very great. In addi- tion, when non-native mammals are introduced into the 1. Collect the organism(s) from the surface of the host state or increase their range(s) from adjacent states, they and place them in a vial or other container with 70 bring with them their ectoparasites that may be transmit- percent ethanol or similar alcohol (see Gardner 1996 ted to endemic species. and Whitaker 1982 for more specific details). In this manuscript we compile all available records 2. Using a No. 2 pencil or indelible (India) ink pen, for three orders of ectoparasites of mammals in New write the following information on a small label to be Mexico: fleas (Siphonaptera), sucking lice (Anoplura), placed into the collection vessel: careful and correct and chewing lice (Mallophaga). There is a lack of infor- identity of the host animal, its precise location of col- mation about these ectoparasites, due to the low num- lection, the sex of the animal and its approximate age bers of the host species studied and to the fact that not (juvenile, adult), the date (mm/dd/yy), and your name all areas of the state have been sampled thoroughly for and collection number (if any).