Fróðskaparrit - 31.12.2000, Page 133

YVIRLIT YVIR LOPPUR SKRASETTARI FØROYUM
137
Adult fleas were collected from approx. 25
House Mice (Mus domesticus), 5 Common
Rats (Rattus norvegicus) and numerous
passerines.
And in 1998:
Puffin (Fratercula arctica) - 11 nests from Skúvoy -
no fleas
Puffin (Fratercula arctica) - 9 uests from Mykines -
no fleas
Puffin (Fratercula arctica) - 11 nests from
Tindhólmur - no fleas
Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) - 2 nests from Mykines -
no fleas
Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) - 5 nests from Nólsoy -
no fleas
Manx shearwater (Pujfinus pujfinus) - 6 nests from
Skúvoy - 3 with fleas
Gannet (Sula bassana) - 7 nests from Mykines - no
fleas
Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) - 4 nests from Mykines -
2 with fleas
Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) - 2 nests from Stóra
Dímun - 1 with fleas
Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) - nests from a pigeon-
loft in Húsavík - 2 flea species
Stariing (Stumus vulgaris) - 1 nest from Skúvoy - no
fleas
Blackbird (Turdus merula) - 1 nest from Skúvoy - no
fleas
Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - 1 nest from Skúvoy
- no fleas
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) - 1 nest with larvae,
but none hatched. However the larvae were
identified as Dasyphyllus g. gallinulae by Prof.
R.L.C. Pilgrim of Univ. of Canterbury, New
Zealand
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) - 2 nests from
Tórshavn - both with fleas
After being killed the fleas are kept in 70%
alcohol until they are mounted on micro-
scopic slides - i.e they are put in a 20%
aqueous solution of potassic hydroxide
(KOH) at room temperature for a couple of
days until they are somewhat transparent.
After which the KOH is washed out with
water for 30 minutes. Then the water is re-
placed by a 10% solution of acetic acid for
30-40 minutes. The acid neutralises the re-
maining alkali and stops the maceration.
The specimens are then dehydrated - first
in 40% alcohol for 30-40 minutes followed
by a similar period in 70% alcohol and ft-
nally in 96% alcohol. When dehydration is
completed the alcohol is replaced by pure
clove oil for at least 24 hours. They are
mounted in Canada balsam dissolved in xy-
lol and finally labelled with Indian ink and
left to dry.
The species
The material consists of 9 species of which
7 are new to the Faroe Islands.
While adult fleas are not always very
particular regarding the type of blood they
get i.e. it is not uncommon to be bitten by a
bird flea, the larvae only thrive in their spe-
cific environment. Thus of the 9 species 4
can be regarded as mammal fleas and 5 are
bird fleas.
1. Pulex irritans L. - (fig.l)
The genus Pulex has 6 species, five of
which occur in the Neotropical Region and
the southern part of the Nearctic Region.
The last species is associated with man and
human habitations. Owing to improvement
of the standard of hygiene, the human flea
can almost be regarded as an endangered
species in Northem Europe with the excep-
tion of Ireland for some peculiar reason
(Sleeman et al., 1996). It is sometimes
found in large numbers in old fashioned
pigsties, while in nature it occurs fairly fre-