Beaver
Beetles
Article from Jul-Aug
2003 Buckeye Trapper
by Marc
Behrendt
Anyone who has trapped, skinned or worked with a beaver has
seen them. Those tiny “bugs” that seem to number in
the thousands. Talking to trappers, I ask them what they think
the tiny insects are, and the usual response is first a repulsive
look, then occasionally a shiver of disgust. I have been told
these creepy crawlies are lice, ticks, fleas, and “I don’t
care, they are really gross!” Not one person knew the actual
identity of these tiny creatures.
These insects are actually tiny beetles, commonly called the beaver
beetle, scientifically known as Platypsyllus Castoris. Measuring
up to 3 mm (1/8 inch) in length, the beaver beetle is hardly threatening.
It has a flattened body, has no eyes and no wings. Both adults
and larvae feed on skin secretions and parasitic mites on the
host beaver. It does not bite; it does not cause disease. It merely
is crawling around, looking for a new host, since the present
host seems to have encountered serious health issues.
Beaver beetles are specific to beavers, though I remember trapping
a mink a few years ago that had insects suspiciously resembling
the beaver beetle. Do these parasites damage the pelts? The answer
is a definite NO! Though incredibly abundant in the beaver’s
fur, these external parasites eat only the dead skin and microscopic
mites that live in the dead skin. They do not damage the fur at
all.
Beavers may host other parasites as well. Roundworms are a common
parasite that lives within the beaver’s body, but does not
cause death. These are tiny and white, usually coiled worms measuring
up to 10 cm (4 inches) long. Another external parasite is the
ear tick.
Beaver beetles live on the beaver. There is actually another beetle
that lives specifically in beaver nests. These nest beetles are
in the same family as Platypsyllus Castoris, scientifically named
Leptinullus Validus. It shall be called the beaver nest beetle
for our purposes.
If you know an insect collector, you may make a friend for life
if you make available a fresh beaver from which live beetles can
be removed. And if you are digging up a beaver den, to collectors,
the nest beetles are close to being the Holy Grail of insects.
If you wish to preserve the beetles for a collector who cannot
be present, merely drop the insects into a bottle of rubbing alcohol,
and the collector can mount the beetles from that medium.
When their present host dies, beaver beetles either die or wander
off to find a new beaver host. So to collect the beetles, a fresh
beaver, less than 24 hours dead, is necessary. And if you find
the little critters crawling around on the fur, there is no need
to spray the fur with insecticide or toss it away. They are just
tiny beetles that have just lost their home.
Note: If you are interested in collecting these beetles for an
insect collector, contact Ken Karnes at species@greenaple.com.
Ken is an avid insect collector, as well as an experienced fox
trapper. ### Marc Behrendt, 421 S. Columbus St., Somerset,
OH 43783-9503
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