Experiments on the ectoparasitic deer ked that often attacks humans; preferences for body parts, colour and temperature
Abstract The deer ked ( Lipoptena cervi ) can fail in its host search. Host search fails when an individual deer ked irreversibly accepts a host unsuitable for its reproduction (e.g. a human) and drops its wings. In northern Europe, the main host of the deer ked is the moose ( Alces alces ). The dee...
Published in: | Bulletin of Entomological Research |
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2009
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007485309990277 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007485309990277 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0007485309990277 2024-09-15T17:36:15+00:00 Experiments on the ectoparasitic deer ked that often attacks humans; preferences for body parts, colour and temperature Kortet, R. Härkönen, L. Hokkanen, P. Härkönen, S. Kaitala, A. Kaunisto, S. Laaksonen, S. Kekäläinen, J. Ylönen, H. 2009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007485309990277 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007485309990277 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Bulletin of Entomological Research volume 100, issue 3, page 279-285 ISSN 0007-4853 1475-2670 journal-article 2009 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007485309990277 2024-09-04T04:03:50Z Abstract The deer ked ( Lipoptena cervi ) can fail in its host search. Host search fails when an individual deer ked irreversibly accepts a host unsuitable for its reproduction (e.g. a human) and drops its wings. In northern Europe, the main host of the deer ked is the moose ( Alces alces ). The deer ked is increasingly causing serious problems for humans (for example, causing deer ked dermatitis) and is considered a threat for the recreational use of forests. The adult deer ked flies in early and mid-autumn to search for a host. Our aims were: (i) to study whether there are ways to avoid deer ked attacks by wearing particular clothing, and (ii) to evaluate deer ked host choice. Using human targets, we explored the cues the deer ked uses for host selection. We studied which part of the host body deer keds target and if body colour and temperature affect their choice. In our experiments, deer keds landed more on dark and red clothing than on white clothing. Moreover, deer keds mostly attacked the upper body parts and preferred the back side of the body over the front side. Finally, deer keds preferred the warmest areas of the host. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Cambridge University Press Bulletin of Entomological Research 100 3 279 285 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
description |
Abstract The deer ked ( Lipoptena cervi ) can fail in its host search. Host search fails when an individual deer ked irreversibly accepts a host unsuitable for its reproduction (e.g. a human) and drops its wings. In northern Europe, the main host of the deer ked is the moose ( Alces alces ). The deer ked is increasingly causing serious problems for humans (for example, causing deer ked dermatitis) and is considered a threat for the recreational use of forests. The adult deer ked flies in early and mid-autumn to search for a host. Our aims were: (i) to study whether there are ways to avoid deer ked attacks by wearing particular clothing, and (ii) to evaluate deer ked host choice. Using human targets, we explored the cues the deer ked uses for host selection. We studied which part of the host body deer keds target and if body colour and temperature affect their choice. In our experiments, deer keds landed more on dark and red clothing than on white clothing. Moreover, deer keds mostly attacked the upper body parts and preferred the back side of the body over the front side. Finally, deer keds preferred the warmest areas of the host. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kortet, R. Härkönen, L. Hokkanen, P. Härkönen, S. Kaitala, A. Kaunisto, S. Laaksonen, S. Kekäläinen, J. Ylönen, H. |
spellingShingle |
Kortet, R. Härkönen, L. Hokkanen, P. Härkönen, S. Kaitala, A. Kaunisto, S. Laaksonen, S. Kekäläinen, J. Ylönen, H. Experiments on the ectoparasitic deer ked that often attacks humans; preferences for body parts, colour and temperature |
author_facet |
Kortet, R. Härkönen, L. Hokkanen, P. Härkönen, S. Kaitala, A. Kaunisto, S. Laaksonen, S. Kekäläinen, J. Ylönen, H. |
author_sort |
Kortet, R. |
title |
Experiments on the ectoparasitic deer ked that often attacks humans; preferences for body parts, colour and temperature |
title_short |
Experiments on the ectoparasitic deer ked that often attacks humans; preferences for body parts, colour and temperature |
title_full |
Experiments on the ectoparasitic deer ked that often attacks humans; preferences for body parts, colour and temperature |
title_fullStr |
Experiments on the ectoparasitic deer ked that often attacks humans; preferences for body parts, colour and temperature |
title_full_unstemmed |
Experiments on the ectoparasitic deer ked that often attacks humans; preferences for body parts, colour and temperature |
title_sort |
experiments on the ectoparasitic deer ked that often attacks humans; preferences for body parts, colour and temperature |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007485309990277 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007485309990277 |
genre |
Alces alces |
genre_facet |
Alces alces |
op_source |
Bulletin of Entomological Research volume 100, issue 3, page 279-285 ISSN 0007-4853 1475-2670 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007485309990277 |
container_title |
Bulletin of Entomological Research |
container_volume |
100 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
279 |
op_container_end_page |
285 |
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1810488199692156928 |