Hoplopleura hirsuta Ferris

Charleston Co., Wedge Plantation, 17 October 1994, 21 September 1994, and 23 October 1996, ex Sigmodon hispidus, coll. K.L. Clark; Mount Pleasant, 9 September 1995 and 28 September 1995, ex S. hispidus, coll. K.L. Clark; Chester Co., unlisted, 11 November 1994, ex S. hispidus, coll. K.L. Clark; Hampton Co., Palachucola Wildlife Management Area, 9 February 1999, coll. M.T.

Hoplopleura hirsuta is an ectoparasite of Sigmodon spp. in the Nearctic and Neotropics. In South Carolina H. hirsuta is a specific ectoparasite of S. hispidus . Although not previously reported from South Carolina, this louse has been reported from the nearby states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee (Kim et al. 1986; Durden et al. 1997).