| Hedgehog flea | |
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| Species: | Archaeopsylla erinacei |
| Binomial name | |
| Archaeopsylla erinacei Bouché, 1835 | |
Thehedgehog flea (Archaeopsylla erinacei) is afleaspecies which, as indicated by itscommon name, is an externalparasite specifically adapted to living with theEuropean hedgehog and theNorth African hedgehog, but it has also been found on other animals. It is the only member of the genusArchaeopsylla.
Named in 1835 byPeter Friedrich Bouché,[1]A. erinacei is a common flea "found on every hedgehog, usually in large numbers".[2] A typical number of fleas on a hedgehog is about a hundred, but up to a thousand have been reported on sick animals.[3] The flea is occasionally found also on dogs and cats, but only temporarily, and has been known to cause allergicdermatitis in dogs.[4] It has also been found on foxes.[5] The flea's length is between 2 and 3.5 millimetres,[6] and its food is the blood of the host.
The flea's reproductive cycle is closely connected with that of the host species.[7] The female breeds only in the nest of a breeding hedgehog, and this is probably prompted by host hormones, as in the case of the rabbit flea,Spilopsyllus cuniculi.[8]
The female flea lays eggs in the host's nesting material. Once hatched, larvae feed on faeces, which include dried blood, and on other material in the nest, then pupate, and adult fleas emerge from the pupae after several days, with variations which depend on temperature and other factors. The lifecycle can be repeated in weeks.[9]
The species is most commonly found on hedgehogs in western and northern Europe, including theBritish Isles, but it is also established in hedgehog populations in other European countries, including theCzech Republic,Croatia,Greece, andUkraine, and inNorth Africa.
European hedgehogs are an invasive exotic species inNew Zealand, but exceptionally the population there is entirely without the hedgehog flea. The fleas probably did not survive the long journey by sea from Europe.[10]
The subspeciesA. e. maura is the common stenoxenous flea of the North African hedgehog in the western Mediterranean regions of North Africa, from Morocco to Libya, and on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.[11][12]
A. erinacei is the only flea known to be implicated in thezoonotic cycle ofBoutonneuse fever.[9]
