What are elk fleas and can they bite a person

Such an insect as a moose flea, entomologists, strictly speaking, do not know. Among the existing flea species, elk fleas are absent, and even animals close to them — for example, deer and roe deer — have their own flea species not.

But on the elks themselves and other ungulates of the taiga can really parasitize a number of blood-sucking insects: here we have both the fleas we are used to and the blood-sucking parasites from completely different units.

In the people of all the creeping and jumping blood-sucking parasites that pester the large animals of the taiga and which sometimes attack people, they are often called elk fleas. Among them:

• goat fleas are more common on roe deer than elk
• alakurt, parasitizing mainly on sheep, but capable of attacking larger ungulates
• deer bloodsuckers are parasitic flies, after falling on the hair of an elk or deer, they lose wings and pass to a permanent dwelling on the body of the host.

The first two types of insects belong to typical fleas: in their biology and appearance they are similar to felids and rat fleas. The reindeer of the bloodsucker is a fly, but due to the fact that it is most often met by crawling in wool, it is also dubbed a flea.

Let's take a closer look at all these insects and find out what danger they can pose to humans and how to protect themselves from them.

 

Alakurt, or flea sheep

Alakurt is known first of all to the shepherds of high-mountainous pastures of Altai and Sayans This large flea feels well mainly in the thick and long hair of domestic sheep, but parasitologists have also found it in wild roe deer and gazelles.

Alakurt is remarkable primarily for its size - females with developing eggs can reach a length of 10-12 mm! Because of the luminous abdomen, which is greatly increasing in size, the locals call this parasite a “white worm”.

Alakurt can live on animals in large quantities. A distinctive feature of these fleas is that they are constantly present on the host body, which distinguishes them from other members of the flea squad.

It is interesting

Most species of fleas parasitize animals that have a permanent place to sleep or shelter. It is in the nest of the host that the parasites spend most of their time and reproduce. These species include rat, rabbit, cat, dog and some other fleas.

But those types of fleas that parasitize ungulates, forced to adapt to the constant presence on the body of the owner - deer, moose, fallow deer, gazelles and other ungulates rarely return to the same place to sleep, and therefore the chances of a flea after resting to find the host in a large forest or on a steppe pasture is small. As a result, the way of life of such species of fleas becomes similar to the way of life of lice permanently living on its owner.

In some cases, with severe infection, alakurt can lead to a weakening of the animal and even its death. For a person, this flea is not dangerous, and the cases of its attack on people are unknown.

Goat fleas can also attack deer and moose.

They can also bite a person. These insects do not differ much from dog and cat fleas, and therefore they do not attract much attention to themselves when they fall on the human body.

 

Deer bloodsucker, its appearance and lifestyle

The deer sucker is a large and fairly mobile fly. It is also called elk mite, elk flea or deer louse. She has a characteristic rather “strong constitution” and strong legs, her body length is 3-4 mm.

In the photo - elk flea in the period of constant parasitism on the host:

The whole life of an elk flea is divided into two stages. The first is a search for a host. It starts from the moment of hatching of the fly from puparia - a kind of pupa, in which the insect experiences winter and develops during the spring and summer. In central Russia, the main part of the young deer bloodsucker appears in August-September, but in general the period of release of young individuals is extended from June to November.

A young fly traps the future owner on the branches of a bush or in the grass.

Seeing or sensing the victim, the insect slowly flies toward it (the bloodsuckers are unimportant flyers), and once on the wool, it clings tightly to it and after a while drops its wings. The second stage of the parasite’s life begins - nutrition and reproduction.

For a bloodsucker, life is characterized by couples - the male and female, meeting on an animal, are constantly nearby.So, if there is one fly on the dog after a walk in the forest, then with a high probability somewhere in the fur you can find the second one.

After mating, the female begins to actively feed, and in her uterus in turn develops one larva. Life-giving birth is characteristic for the bloodsucker - the female gives birth to a molded and developed pupa, which, falling on the ground, hardens and continues its development only after six months - in the spring.

In the fur of the animal, flies are active even in winter, continuing to lay puparia. As a rule, by the spring parasites die.

Below is a photograph of a winged elk flea:

Elk fleas attack animals and people only during the day, when they can see the victim. Especially often they attack hunters when they treat a seriously infected carcase of an elk or deer.

 

Flea bites that parasitize moose and deer

Elk flea bite very painful, especially for an unaccustomed person. Those who are often in the forest and are attacked by mosquitoes, sometimes do not even feel the bite of the bloodsucker.

It is interesting

The female bloodsucker in order to give birth every few days to the developed larva, must suck the host's blood 15-20 times a day, every hour and a half.For one bite, an insect sucks 0.5-1.5 mg of blood. The male eats less intensively.

On some shot animals, hunters found up to 1000 elk fleas - every hour such an army of parasites sucks a gram of blood from an animal, and besides, it constantly leaves itchy bites that can become infected with bacteria and boil over. Often, the bloodsucker bring the sick animals to exhaustion.

If we talk about the danger to humans, it is worth noting that elk fleas attack almost exclusively adults. Children are less “interesting” to them - perhaps the size of the victim plays a role.

According to some calculations, hunters in the forest were sometimes attacked up to 100 parasites per minute. In this case, the fly tries to get under the clothes or hair. It is difficult to remove it from the skin surface due to its small size and flat body.

At the site of elk flea bite, a person has a red spot, and a little later a characteristic papule. Sometimes itching appears after this, but rashes and allergic reactions are usually not observed.

Elk fleas do not tolerate pathogens dangerous for humans.

It is noteworthy that the more people bite the bloodsucker,the more acutely he reacts to their subsequent attacks.

 

How to avoid elk flea bites?

To avoid the attack of the bloodsucker in the forest is almost impossible. If an insect has seen or felt a person, it will definitely fly to him. But to ensure that the parasite does not hit the skin and does not bite - it is quite possible.

To do this:

• wear clothing that covers the whole body;
• put pants on shoes or socks;
• use mosquito nets;
• apply powerful repellents based on DETA. The content of the DEET itself in them should be at least 20%, preferably up to 100%. If you feel this substance, the flies will not risk biting.

It is very useful to go to the forest with a partner who will regularly check the hair and neck for the presence of elk fleas and other parasites. By the way, in the forest it is useful to check each other and for the sucked ticks.

After a stay in the forest, especially - after a successful hunt - you should take a bath and wash your body and head with tar soap. This will remove the already settled blood sucker from it.

 

An interesting video: this is how a deer bloodsucker or elk flea looks like

 

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