492 



JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



r^^oi. 8 



NOTES ON THE HABITS AND CONTROL OF THE CHICKEN 



FLEA 



(Echidnophaga gallinacea Westwood) 



By J. F. Illixgworth, Ph.D., Professor of Entomology, College of Hawaii, 



Honolulu, T.H. 



In this paper the writer desires to briefly summarize data which is 

 to appear later in a bulletin from the College. His investigation of the 

 life-history of the chicken flea shows that there is a great similarity 

 in the development with that of ordinar}^ fleas; and, that it is only in 

 their adult stage where they become markedly speciahzed. Re\-iewing 

 the literature we find numerous short references to this species, but 

 none that would indicate a thorough knowledge of the hfe-cycle and 

 means of control. 



The species has appeared under several generic names since West- 

 wood (1875) ^ placed it in the genus Sarcojyysllus. Enderlein (1903) 

 created the genus Argiopsylla for it; and Baker, (1904) recognizing 

 that it differed widely in structure from Sarcopsylla penetrans, gave 

 it the new genus Xestopsylla. Finally, Jordan and Rothschild (1906) 

 2Dlaced it in Olliff's (1886) old genus. Echidnophaga. 



Hosts 



Though, normally, fleas of this species infest poultry, the indication 

 is that they attack am^ animal that comes in their way. The records 

 mention dogs, cats, horses, rats, owls and man. They are particularly 

 fond of young animals, and it has been noted that they are sometimes 

 very annoying to children. In East Africa, 22.5 per cent of the fleas 

 taken from rats were found to belong to this species; hence, these 

 rodents are thought to be an important agent in their distribution. 

 Recenth^, the writer discovered that the}' also infest the English 

 sparrows, that flock into the chicken houses to the feed boxes. 



DlSTRIBUTIOX 



Though Westwood's description, in 1875, was from specimens fotmd 

 in India, the species is now pretty generally distributed around the 

 world, favoring tropical and sub-tropical regions. A few of the places 

 mentioned in the hterature are: Africa, Italy, Russia, Asia. Fiji 

 Islands, and America. This flea has been recorded in the southern 

 United States since 1890; and one record extends the range as far north 

 as Minnesota. 



1 See bibliograph}'. 



