Seasonal Dynamics of Fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae, Ceratophyllidae and Leptopsyllidae) on Oryctolagus cuniculus in a Meso-Mediterranean Area of Central Spain

Flea infestations of wild rabbits were examined monthly in central Spain in a meso-Mediterranean area for 5 yr. A total of 1,180 wild rabbits were trapped and 7,022 fleas were collected from them. Overall, the prevalence was 74.1% with a mean flea index of 5.95 fleas per rabbit. Four flea species we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medical entomology 2021-07, Vol.58 (4), p.1740-1749
Main Authors: González, M. G., González, J., Valcárcel, F., Sánchez, M., Tercero, J. M., Barrios, L., Olmeda, A. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Autumn
Entomology
flea
Fleas
Generalized linear models
Humidity
Infestation
Laboratories
meso-Mediterranean
Pathogens
Population
POPULATION AND COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
Rabbits
seasonal dynamics
Seasonal variations
Siphonaptera
Spring
Spring (season)
Typhus
wild rabbit
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Summary:Flea infestations of wild rabbits were examined monthly in central Spain in a meso-Mediterranean area for 5 yr. A total of 1,180 wild rabbits were trapped and 7,022 fleas were collected from them. Overall, the prevalence was 74.1% with a mean flea index of 5.95 fleas per rabbit. Four flea species were identified: Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale, 1878) was the most abundant species (accounting for 74.3% of fleas collected) followed by Xenopsylla cunicularis (Smit, 1957), Odontopsyllus quirosi (Gil Collado, 1934), and Nosopsyllus fasciatus (Bosc, 1800) (18.9, 6.7, and 0.1%, respectively).The highest prevalence was observed in S. cuniculi (48.6%) followed by X. cunicularis, O. quirosi, and N. fasciatus (34.3, 20.0, and 0.6%, respectively). Odontopsyllus quirosi and S. cuniculi were mainly collected from autumn to spring with the peak of infestation in winter, while X. cunicularis was mainly found from spring to autumn with maximum levels of infestation during the summer months.The relevance of these findings is discussed.
ISSN:0022-2585
1938-2928
DOI:10.1093/jme/tjab033