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3 April 2021 Seasonal Dynamics of Fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae, Ceratophyllidae and Leptopsyllidae) on Oryctolagus cuniculus in a Meso-Mediterranean Area of Central Spain
M. G. González, J. González, F. Valcárcel, M. Sánchez, J. M. Tercero, L. Barrios, A. S. Olmeda
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Abstract

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.

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
M. G. González, J. González, F. Valcárcel, M. Sánchez, J. M. Tercero, L. Barrios, and A. S. Olmeda "Seasonal Dynamics of Fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae, Ceratophyllidae and Leptopsyllidae) on Oryctolagus cuniculus in a Meso-Mediterranean Area of Central Spain," Journal of Medical Entomology 58(4), 1740-1749, (3 April 2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjab033
Received: 16 December 2020; Accepted: 3 February 2021; Published: 3 April 2021
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KEYWORDS
flea
meso-Mediterranean
seasonal dynamics
wild rabbit
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