Life Cycle and Distribution Pattern of Lipoptena cervi (L.) (Dipt., Hippobosc.) on Danish Deer
- 1 January 1964
- Vol. 15 (1) , 93-+
- https://doi.org/10.2307/3564750
Abstract
Lipoptena cervi, the deer ked, is an external parasite on deer. Females are viviparous and deposit late stage larvae; the latter pupate in soil, and evidently have long periods of diapause. They emerge in the fall as winged dipterans and fly to hosts when these pass nearby. Among the hairs of the host, the wings are worn off, so that the parasites must thereafter remain on the host they have settled upon. Fallow deer and red deer were studied at Jaegersborg Deer Park, Zealand, Denmark. Few specimens were obtained from fallow deer, but many were collected from the red deer. It is thought that the greater dessication and greater compactness of the soil in the grassy areas occupied by the fallow deer were unfavorable for the diapausing puparia, in contrast to moister conditions and lighter soil in the woodland areas where the red deer predominated. L. cervi shows a tendency to aggregate on the host in 2 main regions: the axilla-neck region and the groin-anal region. The skin temperature of the host, the effect of parasite persecution by the host and birds, the nature of the hair covering, and the histological structure of the host''s skin are examined in some detail to provide clues to the reasons for aggregation. In each niche the population of L. cervi depends upon a complex of factors, and not upon any one factor alone.This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: