| Summary: | Ischnopsyllus variabilis (WAGNER, 1898), a model of survival strategy of rare insects? The present paper reports a collection of Ischnopsyllus variabilis in the Schorfheide, a region in the north of Brandenburg (Germany). This bat flea is very rare and the specimens are seldom encountered. The collection of 5 males and 21 females of I. variabilis from summer roosts of the Nathusius`pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusii) is a remarkable documentation, since it represents the largest known population of the flea in Europe. Moreover, the data reported here emphasizes for the first time that the Nathusius` pipistrelle is the main host of I. variabilis. The development of the larvae take place in maternity colonies of this bat species. The occurrence of a local concentration of rare specimens may be a vital necessity for the long range survival. Hence, I. variabilis may represent an appropriate model for the understanding of ecology of rare insects, since a local population could be the origin for a scattered distribution over larger areas. The spread of the flea is promoted by the expansive seasonal migrations of the Nathusius`pipistrelle. The exact mechanisms and parameters underlying such an accumulation of specimens in a special maternity colony are still unknown and require further investigations.
|
|---|