Abstract

ARAMBURU, Rosana et al. First record of Dasypsyllus (Avesopsylla) lasius lasius (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae) in Chilean swallow nests Tachycineta meyeni (Passeriformes: Hirundinidae) in Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. [online]. 2009, vol.68, n.3-4, pp.377-380. ISSN 0373-5680.

Chilean swallows Tachycineta meyeni (Cabanis) nest in the central area in Chile and Southwest in Argentina. In winter, they migrate to Bolivia, Paraguay and Southeast of Brazil. A nest box population of Chilean swallows was established in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. After the breeding season, we collected all nests, treated them with ethyl acetate, and inspected all the nest material for hematophagous arthropods. We found adult fleas, which were fixed, cleared, diaphanized, dehydrated, and mounted in a clove derivative for observation under a microscope. We identified males and females of Dasypsyllus (Avesopsylla) lasius lasius (Rothschild). In Argentina, this flea is only known for Sierra de la Ventana (Buenos Aires), where it was found parasitizing the blue-and-white swallow Notiochelidon cyanoleuca patagonica (Vieillot). This information should be completed with prospecting at intermediate localities. Other birds that occupy nests of both of these swallow species, and which may contribute to flea dispersal between the two recorded localities, include the following: thorn-tailed Aphrastura spinicauda (Gmelin), house wren Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, common miner Geositta cunicularia (Vieillot), and rufous hornero Furnarius rufus (Gmelin).

Keywords : Fleas; Swallows; Hematophagous parasites; Furnariidae; Troglodytidae.

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