Listrophoridae was represented on the prairie vole by a species of Myocoptes and a species of Listrophorus. These mites cling to the hairs of their host, and do not occur on the skin of the voles.
No evidence was seen that mites had any ill effect on the health of their hosts. No voles had scabs on the skin; and the ears were not swollen and disfigured as they sometimes are by chiggers. Although the identity of a specimen of mite could not be determined until it was mounted, a person could tell whether or not it was one of the larger, very active Laelaptidae, one of the hair-clinging Listrophoridae, or one of the tiny, orange Trombiculidae.
On July 12, 1946, three prairie voles were examined to determine the number of mites they supported. The voles were freshly caught, no one of them having been dead for more than five minutes before they were examined. These three voles had an average of 25 Laelaptidae, 22 Listrophoridae, and 53 Trombiculidae.
Six species of mites (Ixodoidea excepted) were found on the prairie vole. Four of these were collected also from other small mammals living in the same habitat as this vole. Two species of mites were found to occur on voles in New York, Kansas, and California.
Ticks (Ixodoidea)
Two kinds of ticks were found. One adult specimen of Ixodes sculptus Neumann was clinging to the head of a vole, just in front of its eye. This species of tick was taken also from the thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Citellus tridecimlineatus) at Lawrence. One nymph of Dermacentor variabilis (Say) was found attached to the scapular region of a prairie vole. Both of these specimens were taken in June.
Table 7. Host Distribution of Mites on Seven Small Mammals[F]
Column headings:
A: Scalopus aquaticus
B: Cryptotis parva
C: Blarina brevicauda
D: Peromyscus maniculatus
E: Peromyscus leucopus
F: Sigmodon hispidus
G: Microtus ochrogaster
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |
| Ascoschöngastia brevipes (Ewing) | .. | .. | .. | .. | X | X | X |
| Liponyssus occidentalis Ewing | .. | X | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Eulaelaps stabularis (Koch) | X | X | X | .. | X | .. | X |
| Atricholaelaps glasgowi (Ewing) | .. | .. | .. | X | .. | .. | X |
| Atricholaelaps sigmodoni Strandtmann | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | X | .. |
| Laelaps kochi Oudemans | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | X | X |
| Myocoptes sp. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | X |
| Listrophorus sp. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | X |