Distribution of Deer Keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) in Free-Living Cervids of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, Central Italy, and Establishment of the Allochthonous Ectoparasite Lipoptena fortisetosa

Abstract

Lipoptena fortisetosa and L. cervi are hematophagous ectoparasites belonging to the Hippoboscidae family and preferentially living on cervids. In recent years, they have received specific attention due to the great increase in the abundance of their host species, and to their medical and veterinary importance as possible vectors of pathogens harmful to humans and animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the parasitism level of both of these flies on their main hosts in Italy, which are red deer, fallow deer, and roe deer, and to highlight a possible preference for a species, sex, or age class among the hosts. Deer keds were collected by examining 326 cervids hunted in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Outcomes showed that L. fortisetosa has greatly spread throughout the study area, where it competes with the autochthonous L. cervi. Moreover, red deer was the favored host species of both ectoparasites, while different preferences for host sex and age classes were observed in the two hippoboscids. The regular monitoring of deer ked populations, especially the allochthonous L. fortisetosa, which is continuously spreading in Europe, is recommended to expand the knowledge on these parasitic species that are potentially dangerous to public health.

Analysis of the bacterial communities associated with pupae and winged or wingless adults ofLipoptena fortisetosacollected from cervids in Italy

“…Samples came from different territories of the study area (Figure 1). Further details and procedures are described by Andreani et al (2021).…”

“…In particular, the genus Lipoptena (subfamily Lipopteninae) specifically targets cervids. Currently, Lipoptena cervi (Linnaeus 1758) and L. fortisetosa Maa, 1965 are considered to be the only two members of this genus present in Italy, where they infest predominantly red deer Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758, roe deer Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758), and fallow deer Dama dama (Linnaeus, 1758) (Andreani et al, 2021). However, it must be taken into consideration that these hippoboscids can feed on some occasional hosts, including humans with possible consequent health risks (Bequaert, 1942;Ma slanko et al, 2020).…”