Nasal bots and lice from white-tailed deer in southern Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Heads of 64 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns, harvested in the vicinity of Magrath, Alberta, Canada, (49°24′782″N, 112°52′ 113″W) were examined for the presence of nasal bots and lice. The deer were collected between 8-30 January 2004 as part of a government-approved herd reduction protocol. The entire surface of each head was scanned visually for the presence of lice. Each head was split longitudinally, and the nasal passages, sinuses, and ethmoid region were washed for recovery of nasal bots. First instar Cephenemyia spp. were recovered from 17 heads (27%). Intensity of infestation ranged from 1-18 larvae (mean intensity 4.8). Among fawns, there were no significant differences in prevalence or mean intensity between the sexes. Two species of nasal bots were identified. Smaller larvae, tentatively identified as C. jellisoni, were present in 16 of 17 infested deer while larger specimens, tentatively identified as C. phobifera, were found in four deer; and in three of the four it co-occurred with C. jellisoni. The presence of C. phobifera in Alberta would represent a range extension for this species, which has not been known to occur west of North Dakota. Thirty-one fawns (48%) were infested with the sucking louse Solenopotes ferrisi. One infested fawn also had one specimen of the chewing louse, Tricholiopeurus lipeuroides. © Wildlife Disease Association 2008.