Two species of deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) in Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan

Abstract

Two species of deer keds, Lipoptena fortisetosa Maa and L. sikae Mogi, were collected from Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. This is the first report of L. fortisetosa from Hiroshima Prefecture and for L. sikae from the Chugoku district. Alate individuals of L. fortisetosa were collected during June-October by sweeping; L. sikae were similarly collected in November. Both sexes of L. fortisetosa often flitted at a low height (5-110cm above the ground), and sometimes adhered to the outside of the white sweep nets. Apparently, the population density of winged L. fortisetosa is unrelated to that of the Japanese deer Cervus nippon Temminck. In late December, de-alate forms of both species were collected from the body of the dead host. Lipoptena fortisetosa were collected during winter in Japan for the first time. Attention should be paid to deer keds in Miyajima, since they are potential pests for humans. Miyajima can be a valuable field for studying interspecific relationships of these two species of deer keds.