An aspect in life history of the deer ked, Lipoptena fortisetosa Maa, recorded for the first time from Kyushu, Japan (Diptera: Hippoboscidae).

Abstract

In Japan the deer ked, Lipoptena fortisetosa, has been known from Hokkaido and Honshu, and it was newly found around Mt. Inunaki, North Kyushu. This species is the only deer ked known from Kyushu. Adult alate L. fortisetosa was collected with net from 2004 to 2006 around Mt. Inunaki where about 700 individuals of the Japanese deer, Cervus nippon nippon, live and L. fortisetosa is presumed to parasitize the Japanese deer. Adult alate L. fortisetosa appeared from May to December, longer than in Honshu. Two deer keds, L. fortisetosa and L. sikae parasitize the Japanese deer in Honshu. Alate L. fortisetosa appears in Spring to mid Autumn and alate L. sikae in late Autumn to early Winter. It was considered that L. fortisetosa was able to appear longer in Mt. Inunaki, until December, than in Honshu, because L. fortisetosa is free from competition with L. sikae in the same niche, due to absence of L. sikae. It was often observed that L. fortisetosa dropped onto the outside of the collecting net of both white and blue in color. In addition, it was suggested that adult alate L. fortisetosa could live for 5 to 6 days without blood-sucking after emergence, because a specimen of L. fortisetosa lived for more than 124 hrs. in the petri dish containing leaves of weed, Artemisia princeps.