Sucking louse (Hoplopleura erratica: Insecta, Anoplura) exchange between individuals of a wild population of Eastern chipmunks, Tamias striatus, in central Tennessee, U.S.A.

Adult Hoplopleura erratica sucking lice were labelled using a setal clipping technique. Host exchange for lice marked in this manner was monitored through a small population of dye‐marked Eastern chipmunks, Tamias striatus, the normal host of this ectoparasite, in a deciduous woodland in central Tennessee, U.S.A. This was accomplished by frequent host live‐trapping, anaesthetization and pelage examinations. Louse transfer was most prevalent during the host summer mating period, presumably because of increased chipmunk contacts. At this time, 66·7% of marked adult lice within the host population transferred. Exchanges between opposite sex hosts were more common and adult males donated most lice; no juvenile chipmunks were recorded as louse donors. A greater proportion of male than female lice transferred. Using the exclusive boundary strip method, all exchanging chipmunks had overlapping ranges or shared at least one boundary line.