Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1993, Page 73

PESTS RECORDED IN THE FAROE ISLANDS, 1986-1992
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fauna (Tragárdh, 1931), but over the last
few years it has been found three times
(Hallas and Olsen, 1990).
Many hay mites live in the hay stores, but
as mentioned before, they do not create the
same severe problems of hay allergy as in
the neighbouring countries of Iceland and
Shetland (Hallas, 1981; Hallas and Sol-
berg, 1989; Iversen et al., 1990).
Some members of the group Siphonap-
tera, the fleas, are ectoparasites on birds,
dogs and cats, and may attack man. The
most common are bird fleas Ceratophyllus
sp., which have the starling Sturnus vul-
garis as host and they have been recorded
14 times (4.0%). The fleas from the starling
nests have a short season from March to
June (Fig. 9). They winter in the empty bird
nests as pupae and hatch in March to May
of the following year. If the birds have not
yet returned to their nests or have moved to
a new nest, the fleas will search for a new
host. In the course of their movement, they
may enter houses and bite people. They
only survive a short period inside houses,
and by May the problem is over.
The next most common fleas are those
having dogs and cats as hosts (Ctenocepha-
lides felis), with 4 records (1.1%). The cat
flea (Fig. 10), in particular, seems to have
become an increasing problem in recent
years, perhaps due to a combination of
more cats and dogs as pet animals living in-
side houses, and the interior fumishings,
including wall-to-wall carpets, from which
it is very difficult to get rid of fleas.
The occurrence of book-lice. Copeog-
natha sp., with 14 records (3.9%) is quite
different (Fig. 9). These tiny insects can be
Fig. 15. Distribution of delivered specimens ac-
cording to location. Tórshavn=l (N=177);
Vestmanna=2 (N= 18); Argir=3 (N=14);
Klaksvík=4 (N=13); Vágur=5 (N=12).
Mynd 15. Nøgdin av dýrum býtt eftir staði. Tórs-
havn=l (N=177); Vestmanna=2 (N= 18);
Argir=3 (N=14); Klaksvík=4 (N=13);
Vágur=5 (N=12).
found all year round in houses which are a
little too moist (Fig. 11). They live on the
mould fungus which grows on moist food
stores, walls and fumitures, etc. and may
have a negative effect on people suffering
from allergies or asthma when they occur in
great numbers.
4. More or less harmless animals living in
human settlements or houses as regular
or occasional winter guests
Several garden-dwellers enter houses and
are recorded more because they are large or
visible than because they cause problems
for residents. They usually only enter hous-
es to find a place to spend the winter or
hide. Six of these, belonging to insects,
spiders and cmstaceans, will be mentioned
here (Fig. 12).