Chiggers parasitic on green pheasant : Role of the bird as carrier of Leptotrombidium pallidum (Nagayo et al.)

Abstract

To evaluate a role of the green pheasant, Phasianus colchicus tohkaidi, as a carrier of Leptotrombidium pallidum, six female birds were shot at Miasa Village and Ina City, Nagano Prefecture, in the late October of 1984,and chiggers parasitic or phoretic on them were examined. Two species of bird chiggers, Helenicula miyagawai and Neoschoengastia shiraii, and five kinds of rodent chiggers, Leptotrombidium intermedium, L. kitasatoi, L. pallidum, Neotrombicula japonica and Gahrliepia saduski, were recorded. All the six birds were infested with L. pallidum with chigger count of 6,1,1,1,5 and 2,respectively. This suggests that the bird plays a role as a carrier in the dispersal of L. pallidum.