Polyplax spinulosa (Burmeister)

Richland Co., Columbia, 4 October 2002, ex sticky trap, coll. Orkin Pest Control.

The spiny rat louse, P. spinulosa, has an almost cosmopolitan distribution along with its hosts Rattus rattus (Linnaeus) and Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) . Kim et al. (1986) reported a collection of P. spinulosa from rats in South Carolina. Polyplax spinulosa is an enzootic vector of Rickettsia typhi (Wolbach & Todd) and Haemobartonella muris (Mayer) in Rattus spp. populations (Durden 2002; Roberts & Janovy 2000). Pratt & Good (1954) reported P. spinulosa from 17 unspecified localities throughout South Carolina.