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On the Loss of Ectoparasites of Small Mammals Captured in Snap Traps

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Abstract

This paper presents comparative assessment of the timing of host abandonment by different taxa of ectoparasites of small mammals after the host has been captured in a regular snap trap. The data were obtained using a specially designed trap line with automatic logging of the capture time. Our results generally support the basic rule that ectoparasites eventually abandon the dead host. The most tangible and rapid reduction in infection rates following host death was observed in Ixodes persulcatus. Fleas and parasitic gamasid mites abandoned the host in 2–4 h, and lice, in 9–13 h after snap-trapping. Ixodes trianguliceps displayed no sharp decline in abundance for a prolonged period of time.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are sincerely grateful to V.V. Yakovlev (Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk) for technical support of our research, and to the reviewers for valuable comments on the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by State Research Assignment FMEN-2022-0005, No. 122032100130-3 at the Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 185910, Petrozavodsk, Russia

    N. A. Kocherova, L. A. Bespyatova & S. V. Bugmyrin

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  1. N. A. Kocherova
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  2. L. A. Bespyatova
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  3. S. V. Bugmyrin
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Correspondence to S. V. Bugmyrin.

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Statement on the welfare of animals. All the applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All the procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted.

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Kocherova, N.A., Bespyatova, L.A. & Bugmyrin, S.V. On the Loss of Ectoparasites of Small Mammals Captured in Snap Traps. Entmol. Rev. 102, 199–206 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S001387382202004X

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