Fleas on small rodents in Lithuania

Abstract

Fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera) is a highly-specialized holometabolous insect order with 2000 described species placed in 18 families. Fleas are entirely ectoparasitic. Fleas are laterally compressed, wingless insects; the head is shield or helmet shaped, compound eyes are absent, and mouthparts are specialized for piercing and sucking. Fleas are of tremendous medical and economic importance as vectors of several diseases important to human health including bubonic plague, murine typhus, and tularemia. The distribution of flea species in rodents from Lithuania is not clear. A total 255 fleas were collected on 162 small rodents in Kaunas, Šilutė (Kintai and Muižė) and Zarasai regions. In Šilute region from 25 captured rodents in Kintai 16 rodents had fleas and from 45 captured rodents in Muižė 27 rodents had fleas. From 47 captured rodents in Kaunas 20 rodents had fleas. From 45 captured rodents in Dusėtos 23 rodents had fleas [...]