Parasitic Arthropods of Soricinae Shrews in North-Eastern Poland

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Studies on the ectoparasites of insectivores are quite rare compared with other groups of mammals. The study of the ectoparasite fauna of the insectivores: Sorex araneus, Sorex minutus, Neomys fodiens, and Neomys anomalus—was carried out in three locations in north-eastern Poland: Białowieża National Park, Kosewo Górne in the Masurian Lake District, and one location in vicinity of Warsaw. Three species of ixodid ticks, eleven species of fleas and four species of mites from the order Mesostigmata were noted, in comparison to the total number of ectoparasite species on Soricinae, recorded in Central Europe, amounts to eighty-one species: six tick species, twenty-three gamasid mites, nine trombiculid mites, nine Myobiidae and Sarcoptiformes, twenty-nine flea species, and five sucking lice. The most numerous ectoparasites recorded during the study are ticks Ixodes ricinus (larvae), Dermacentor reticulatus (nymphs), fleas Palaeopsylla soricis, Megabothris walkeri, and Hystrichopsylla orientalis. These species show the highest prevalence and show the highest dominance index. The parasitofauna of S. araneus is much richer in species than other insectivorous species. The structure and dominance of parasite assemblages differ between locations. ABSTRACT: The study of the ectoparasite fauna of the insectivores—Sorex araneus, Sorex minutus, Neomys fodiens, and Neomys anomalus (subfamily Soricinae)—was carried out in three locations in Poland: Białowieża National Park, Kosewo Górne in the Masurian Lake District, and in vicinity of Warsaw. Three species of Ixodidae ticks, eleven species of fleas, and four species of mites from the order Mesostigmata were noted. The most numerous ectoparasites are ticks Ixodes ricinus (larvae), Dermacentor reticulatus (nymphs), and fleas Palaeopsylla soricis, Megabothris walkeri, and Hystrichopsylla orientalis. These species show the highest prevalence and show the highest dominance index. The parasitofauna of S. araneus is much richer in species than other shrew species. The structure and dominance of parasite assemblages differ between locations.