Inhabitants of Three Nests of the Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel, Ictidomys (Formerly Spermophilus) tridecemlineatus (Mitchill), from Indiana

Abstract

The fauna was examined from three nests of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, Ictidomys tridecemlineatus, from Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana. The most abundant mite was Sertitympanum separationis, mostly females. Immature and male individuals of this species were also found, both for the first time. Androlaelaps fahrenholzi was the second most abundant mite. Thirty-eight mites including at least three new species of the genus Bakerdania were present. In small numbers were mites of the species Macrocheles mesochthonius (Krantz & Whitaker 1988). The most abundant insects in the nests were larvae and adults of the flea Opisocrostis bruneri, and an unidentified staphylinid beetle, Atheta sp. Other species of invertebrates occurred in lower numbers.