<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Colonial breeding birds such as the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), are perfectly suited for ectoparasitological studies, as their elaborate social life and frequent body-to-body contacts induce high prevalence of louse (Phthiraptera) infestations. In this study we investigated a large breeding colony at Albertirsa, Hungary, and measured the louse burden of the breeding population. With more than 200 pairs nesting in the loess wall there, it may be Hungary’s largest colony of European Bee-eaters. We sampled breeding birds and compared their louse burdens between age groups and sexes. We report the prevalence, mean and median intensity of infestations of the three louse species harboured by the Bee-eaters, and the results of louse burden comparisons between age groups and sexes.</p></abstract>

Colonial breeding birds such as the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), are perfectly suited for ectoparasitological studies, as their elaborate social life and frequent body-to-body contacts induce high prevalence of louse (Phthiraptera) infestations. In this study we investigated a large breeding colony at Albertirsa, Hungary, and measured the louse burden of the breeding population. With more than 200 pairs nesting in the loess wall there, it may be Hungary’s largest colony of European Bee-eaters. We sampled breeding birds and compared their louse burdens between age groups and sexes. We report the prevalence, mean and median intensity of infestations of the three louse species harboured by the Bee-eaters, and the results of louse burden comparisons between age groups and sexes.

Louse (Insecta: Phthiraptera) infestations of European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) at Albertirsa, Hungary

Institute for Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, Budapest, István utca 2., 1078 Hungary

Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Baross utca 13., 1088 Hungary

Ornis Hungarica

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Colonial breeding birds such as the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), are perfectly suited for ectoparasitological studies, as their elaborate social life...

Louse (Insecta: Phthiraptera) infestations of European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) at Albertirsa, Hungary

Published Online: Jul 02, 2014

Page range: 33 - 37

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/orhu-2014-0003

Keywords
ectoparasite, lice, parasitism, preening

© 2014

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Louse (Insecta: Phthiraptera) infestations of European Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster Linnaeus, 1758) at Albertirsa, Hungary

Published Online: Jul 02, 2014

Page range: 33 - 37

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/orhu-2014-0003

Keywordsectoparasite, lice, parasitism, preening

© 2014

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords
ectoparasite, lice, parasitism, preening