The Fleas (Siphonaptera) of West Virginia

ABSTRACT Thirty-five species of fleas are documented from the state of West Virginia including new state records for the ischnopsyllid, Nycteridopsylla chapini Jordan, 1929, and the ctenophthalmid, Corrodopsylla curvata (Rothschild, 1915). Host and distribution records are presented by county, with many new records, including 88 new county records amassed since 1980. The most widely distributed fleas were Orchopeas leucopus (Baker, 1904) and Peromyscopsylla hesperomys hesperomys (Baker, 1904), both from mice of the genus Peromyscus. Ctenophthalmus pseudagyrtes (Baker, 1904) was abundant on shrews, voles, and mice. The squirrel flea, Orchopeas howardi (Baker, 1895), found in 12 counties from west to east in the state is probably present throughout the state. This species has been implicated in the maintenance and spread of sporadic epidemic typhus. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché, 1835), a parasite primarily of domestic cats and dogs, was not well represented in our collections, but is widespread geographically and probably occurs throughout the state. This is the most economically important species in West Virginia as a household pest and carrier of several zoonotic human pathogens.