Lice and Fleas (Phthiraptera and Siphonaptera). Chapter 13.4

Abstract

A total of 31 Phthiraptera species alien to Europe are listed. They include 24 chewing lice and seven sucking lice of 12 different families. The families Goniodidae (Ischnocera) and Menoponidae (Amblycera) largely dominate the alien entomofauna of chewing lice. Asia is the major supplier of alien Phthiraptera which are mostly associated with poultry farming, game birds, guinea pigs and invasive alien mammals. The recent period did not show any acceleration in alien arrival in Europe. Alien fleas include six species in the families Pulicidae and Ceratophyllidae. Three of them are primarily associated with rats and are capable of transmiting major human diseases such as the bubonic plague and the murine typhus.