( 539 ) 



NOTES ON PULEX AVIUM Taschb. 



By the HON. N. C. ROTHSCHILD, B.A., F.LiS. 



(Plate IX.) 



~I '\E. TASCHENBERG in Die Flohe* p. 71, describes a flea under the name of 

 -* -^ Pulex avium, from various .species of birds. As synonjms of his species are 

 given no less than seven names of other authors for fleas found on birds. These are 

 Pulex gaUinae, P. columbae, P. rufics, P. hincndinis, P. fringillae, C. bifasciatus, 

 C. sturni and P. auritus. Dr. Taschenberg states at the end of his article on Pulex 

 avium that the examination of a large series of bird fleas has convinced him that all 

 the fleas found on birds are identical and belong to the same species. On the ground, 

 moreover, that the first name given to the species, that of gallinae, was unsuitable, 

 it was rejected and an entirely new one, avium, was employed to designate the 

 species. 



The view that only one species of flea infests birds is still generally maintained. 

 Mr. F. V. Theobald t however, in his work on British Flies, pp. 31 and 32, 

 differentiates two species, P. gallinae and P. hirundinls, though the alleged specific 

 diiferences between them are unsatisfactory. Mr. Theobald also mentions Pulex 

 fringillae, and P. columhae, as being possibly distinct. No other attempt to 

 differentiate fleas found on birds has, as far as we know, hitherto been published. 



The older authors appear to have named and described each flea they got from 

 a new host. The old descriptions are entirely insufficient, in fact they apply to almost 

 every flea known. An attempt to unravel the synonymy of these insects, or to reconcile 

 the older names with &ny particular species, is an impossibility. Few we think 

 would doubt that Schrank's Pulex gallinae was the insect commonly found on the 

 domestic fowl, but of absolute evidence to support this view there is none. 



The bird fleas I have in my collection differ so much in size and colour that I 

 felt sure they belonged to different species, and a careful examination convinces me 

 that Pulex avium is a composite species. In the hope of inducing collectors to give 

 some attention to bird fleas I have written down the following notes, basing my 

 remarks on four common and easily distinguished British species. The principal 

 distinctive characters are found in the last abdominal segments of both sexes. We 

 believe that hitherto no attempt has been made to distinguish i'he females of closely 

 allied species of fleas by this infallible test, which renders the identification oi females 

 of even two such closely allied insects as Typhlopsylla agyrtes and T. orientilis a 

 matter of ease. 



Bird fleas breed in the nests of their hosts, and are easily procured by putting 

 a nest into a bag shortly after the young are fledged. 



» Die Fliihe. Von Dr. Otto Taschenberg. Halle. Ma.x Niemejer, 1880. 



t An Account of British Flies. By Fred. V. Theobald Vol. I. London : Elliot Stock, 1892. 



