Jump up, jump up and get down (Dasypsyllus gallinulae)

The other day, before the ice queen waved her wand over the county, I snatched a plug of moss from underneath the hide, which I fondly imagined might host various tiny beetles and maybe a pupa or two. I shoved it in a yoghurt pot I had in my bag. This was no small yoghurt pot, but neither was it full on Turkish sixe 5L yoghurt pot. It is 500g Tesco Finest Greek Yoghurt. As if! "Yoghurt" is a Turkish word. no such thing as Greek yoghurt! Anyway, enough of that.

I did extract one pupae, which waits patiently to reveal its secrets. Or not. However, when I tipped out the moss ball onto a white tray and began to peruse at close quarters I observed multiple jumping critters, laterally flattened and I ... moved back a bit. Siphonaptera! Whoop! My first attempt at keying a flea since my old buddy Gordon gave me his RES key (and inside that his very own personal key).

When I recalled Seth's struggles I settled in for the long haul, but it quickly ran to Ceratophyllidae and then with the number of spines in its pronotal fringe (loads) to a bird dwelling species. The scientific name for this beast is Dasypsyllus gallinulae, and the English name is Moorhen Flea. It was beside the water so maybe ... however, like many uncommented-on useless scientific names (people only care about bad English names, even if they're directly translated) it really doesn't care. It prefers, actually, "passerines that build nests in low positions" - maybe Wren in this case. The bird species list of hosts is as long as your arm.Anyway, I was delighted to see it, one way or another.

Laterally compressed

Habitus

Heed

5 pr of lateral plantar setae, 3rd pr shifted to plantar surface