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SCARABS Rich Cunningham William B. Warner Barney Streit 3889 Walnut Avenue 2338 W. Rockwell Court 1011 N. Craycroft Road #107 Chino, CA 91710 Chandler, AZ 85224 Tucson, AZ 85711 Occasional Issue Number 13 Jé banse hujé, te hooinda July, 1997 prairie dog towns, or from infected wild Don’t Catch That -or- fleas brought into their home by a pet. Disease Risk Reduction & Rodent Pets can also contract plague, and plague WITHIN THIS Inquiline Collecting can be transmitted from mammal to mammal via inhalation (hence the term ISSUE.... by William B. Warner “pneumonic plague”). It has been four days since you filled kill Every so often a plague epidemic (an jars with rare, inquiline Aphodius and “epizootic”) will course through a rodent Onthophagus you so painstakingly exca- population, killing off most of the vated from the dung middens and bur- rodents in months. Such an epizootic in rows of woodrats, prairie dogs and white-tailed prairie dogs was tracked as pocket gophers. It was a glorious trip, it slowly spread across northeast Arizona and you finished pinning up the speci- during 1995. After mass die-offs of their mens late last night just before you hosts, newly emerged and potentially started running a fever. After some aspi- infected fleas will concentrate near the rin and a few restless hours of sleep you mouths of now empty rodent burrows. A wake up a 4:00 A. M. with a killer head- beetle-hungry entomologist or other ani- ache and a fever now running 104° F. A mal passing by or entering the burrow is The Plague Scooper 2000™ bothersome sensation causes you to feel like ringing the flea dinner bell—in the under your left arm, and you find a ten- flea’s world when you are hungry any der, already walnut-sized swelling in warm body will do in a pinch! So stay Malaysian Jungle Rumble your armpit. Your heart sinks... you know away from inactive burrows and prairie you have to get to the hospital soon. You dog towns. You can still get plague from know you will have to explain to the doc- fleas even in active burrows, however. New Address tors what you no doubt have, because if you don’t you could die before they get There are also other disease concerns, the diagnosis correct. You know that anti- albeit the incidence of infection is low, Sweet Smellin’ Stuff biotics will probably cure you quickly, when working with rodents. Chagas dis- unlike the scores before you who died a ease has been isolated in the United grisly death. You also know that you will States, so obviously, rubbing Triatoma or Nikon 200 mm Close-Up Lens now be a statistic because Plague, the Rhodnius feces into an open wound or historical killer of millions, is the only onto mucous membranes is unwise. worldwide reportable disease. Your only There is always a small chance of con- Bugs on the Net solace is knowing that “... at least it isn’t tracting Chagas, various fungal diseases Hanta.” and Hanta viruses via inhaling dust dur- The Ultimate Collecting Hat? ing burrow excavations. The highest This is not as unlikely a scenario as one potential mortality from these is perhaps might think. At least two scarabaeolo- Hanta, although the serious forms have Rich and Barney’s Excellent gists in recent years have contracted so far been isolated only from field mice Adventure plague while collecting in prairie dog (Peromyscus). At least one wood rat mounds. Plague is a disease of rodents, (Neotoma) has tested positive for expo- spread by fleas, and can readily infect sure, but it was believed to be infected, man. Fleas of prairie dogs, ground squir- not infectious. Still, although inquiline rels, marmots, wood rats, rock squirrels, scarab collectors would normally not tar- pocket gophers and many other groups get field mice burrows, field mice may of rodents are known plague vectors. use Neotoma mounds and other larger Most human victims in the U. S. become rodent nests as sites for their own nests, infected with plague from unknowingly so be careful. picking up fleas when walking through Infection Prevention clothing makes them more difficult to some side-to-side play in the connection spot. so that the ladle can go around mild bur- Wearing respiratory protection when row turns. doing burrow excavations is wise. Any Chemical repellents sprayed on pants type of dust mask will help prevent air- legs, shoes and exposed socks are a big 5) To use, simply jam the ladle end down borne pathogens from being inhaled dur- help. DEET formulations and Per- a burrow, turn it so that the ladle scoop is ing “rodent work.” The professional manone (permethrin) are EPA/FDA down, and scrape back up to the burrow epizootic investigators, however, wear labeled ectoparasite repellents for appli- entrance. A good handful of soil and Tyvek suits and use respirators with cation to human clothing. Permethrin has rodent pellets will come up with each HEPA filters anytime they are doing an advantage in that, in addition to hav- scraping. The soil can either be picked Hanta virus surveys. This may seem like ing repellent activity, it is also an insecti- through by spreading it out at the site and overkill given the low probability of cide that will kill fleas that contact (not recommended as you will have contracting Hanta, and is probably man- treated clothing. scraped-up fleas too), or you dump it into dated by bureaucrats paranoid about a five-gallon pail and move quickly to the workman’s compensation claims. But, Under the “putting some distance next burrow. The pail’s contents can be with the very high mortality experienced between yourself and the potentially haz- floated, picked through by hand, or run with Hanta infections in the United ardous burrow biota,” Scarabs would through a Berlese funnel later. I found a States, it might be prudent to err to the like now to formally introduce the five-gallon pail more than sufficient to side of caution. In other words, wear a PLAGUE SCOOPER 2000™. This keep fleas from escaping. If you are good dust mask and stay away from field handy device can be made quickly and interested in collecting the fleas, simply mice nests! cheaply, and when used with a five-gal- blow onto the dirt in the pail and fleas lon plastic pail, will keep you about as far will start “popping” about in response to Some scarabaeologists have used that from those hopping vectors as is physi- the carbon dioxide in your breath. tried-and-true Aphodius collecting cally possible. It has been successfully method that, for lack of a better name, we used in its first outings in Arizona and Remember that anytime you are working will call “Gordoning.” This consists of Colorado to collect series of a new Aph- around rodent dung (or any dung, for that lying down on the ground at the entrance odius and Aphodius dentigerulus in matter), you are potentially exposing to a prairie dog burrow, jamming your white-tailed and black-tailed prairie dog yourself to diseases and parasites. Being arm into the burrow as deeply as you can, mounds respectively. prepared and taking a few simple steps to and scraping back the soil on the bottom avoid inhalation or ingestion of the “bee- of the burrow with your hand or a spoon. To make your own PLAGUE SCOOPER tle medium”—or becoming a paratenic Obviously, this maximizes your chances 2000, follow these easy steps: host to ectoparasites of the “medium’s on coming into contact with plague-vec- producer”—will keep you healthy toring fleas, as history has proven. It also 1) Go to the “dollar store” and buy a ladle enough to collect again. maximizes your chances your chances of with a scoop diameter of about 2.5 inches breathing in airborne pathogens, finding (~ 7 cm.). You can also steal the one in the business end of a rattlesnake by the your kitchen, but your spouse may beat Braille Method, or coming into contact you with it when you return it covered Scarab Collecting in Malaysia -or- with a pair of large incisors belonging to with dirt and rodent poop. Also, plague The Rumble... In the Jungle a frightened rodent. bacilli can survive in soil for a little while. So, if you do this, I recommend by Barney Streit So, how does one avoid these perils and you wash it well prior to that next bowl still get the beetles? The answers lie in of minestrone. For quite some time I have been proper clothing, chemical repellents, and intrigued by the collecting expeditions in putting some distance between your- 2) Obtain a 6-7 foot or longer piece of led by lepidopterist Dr. Thomas C. self and the potentially hazardous burrow PVC pipe one inch in diameter, or one- Emmel. His company is now called biota. inch electrical conduit, or similar diame- Expedition Travel, Inc. The address is ter stiff, lightweight piping. The end of a 1717 NW 45th Avenue, Gainesville, Proper clothing includes light-colored tubular net handle works well too! Florida 32605. Their telephone numbers pants, with the cuffs stuck into the socks, are (352) 392-5894 (days), (352) 377- and preferably a long-sleeved, light-col- 3) Drill a hole through both walls of the 6300 (evenings) and (352) 392-0479 ored shirt with the cuffs inside of gloves. pipe, perpendicular to its length, and (FAX). Of all the trips offered, the trip to Generally, most collectors will skip the about once inch (2-3 cm.) from one end.