100 J. O. Whitaker, Jr., G. D. Hartman, and R. Hein 



represented about equally and collectively comprised about half of 

 the food in the sample. Whereas no food item was dominant in the 

 sample of B. carolinensis, earthworms clearly were dominant (37.5% 

 volume) in B. brevicauda, followed by slugs and snails (8.5%), lepidopterous 

 larvae (8.2%), Gryllidae (6.2%), and Chilopoda (4.5%) (Table 1). 



Ectoparasites 



Ectoparasites were observed on all B. carolinensis examined, 

 and individuals of 27 different species were collected (Table 2): one 

 species of flea (Doratopsylla blarina), one species of beetle (Leptinus 

 americanus), and 25 species of mites from eight families (Acaridae, 

 Anoetidae, Cyrtolaelapidae, Laelapidae, Listrophoridae, Myobiidae, 

 Pygmephoridae, and Trombiculidae). Both in terms of the percentage 

 of hosts infested and the mean numbers observed per host, the most 

 frequently observed ectoparasites on B. carolinensis were Echinonyssus 

 blarinae, Haemogamasus liponyssoides (Laelapidae), Asiochirus 

 blarina (Listrophoridae), Orycteroxenus soricis (Acaridae), and 

 Protomyobia blarinae (Myobiidae). 



Doratopsylla blarina, the only flea observed on B. carolinensis, 

 was the second most abundant of the six flea species observed on 

 B. brevicauda. The acarid mite Orycteroxenus soricis occurred on 

 both species of shrew, but two acarid hypopi, Xenoryctes latiporus 

 (only on B. carolinensis) and Dermacarus hypudaei (only on B. brevicauda), 

 also were present. Asiochirus blarina was the only listrophorid 

 collected; it occurred on both species of shrew. Five species of 

 laelapid mites were collected from B. carolinensis, as compared to 

 eight species on B. brevicauda. The laelapid species Haemogamasus 

 liponyssoides was one of the two most abundant ectoparasites on 

 both species of shrew. Echinonyssus blarinae was more abundant on 

 B. carolinensis, whereas Androlaelaps fahrenholzi was the most 

 abundant laelapid on B. brevicauda. Seven species of Pygmephorus 

 were collected from B. carolinensis, and 12 species from B. brevicauda. 



Of the 11 species of pygmephorids observed on B. carolinensis, 

 four were in the genus Bakerdania, a genus that was not observed on 

 B. brevicauda. Three species of Bakerdania probably are undescribed. 

 Thirteen species of ectoparasite (1 flea, 1 beetle, 11 mite species) 

 were common to both species of Blarina. Fourteen species of ectoparasites 

 were observed only on B. carolinensis: these 14 consisted of one 

 laelapid, one acarid, eight species of pygmephorids, two cyrtolaelapids, 

 an anoetid, and a chigger (Trombiculidae). Of the 32 species reported 

 for B. brevicauda, 19 were found only on that host. The 19 consisted 



