Parasitic arthropods of small mammals in Mississippi

Twelve species (292 individuals) of small mammals were livetrapped and examined for parasitic arthropods in 17 localities in Mississippi from June through November 1998. Fifteen species of ectoparasites were collected: 2 species of sucking lice (Anoplura), 4 species of fleas (Siphonaptera), larvae of 2 species of bots (Cuterebridae), 4 species of mesostigmatid mites (Mesostigmata), and immature stages of 3 species of hard ticks (Ixodidae). The white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) harbored the most species of parasitic arthropods (8), followed by the cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus - 6), and the cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus - 5). New state records for Mississippi were established for the sucking louse Hoplopleura hirsuta, the bot Cuterebra americana, the laelapid mite Laelaps alaskensis, and the fleas Orchopeas pennsylvanicus and Peromyscopsylla scotti.