Ask The Biologist

QUESTION: I live in Alabama and have noticed ticks on just about every deer harvested, but I never see fleas. Weird? — Kenny L.

ANSWER: I must admit I didn’t know the answer to this one, and it wasn’t easy to find. Several studies list common ectoparasites of deer as ticks, chigger mites, keds and both sucking and chewing lice - but no fleas. Only one study, published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, found fleas, but the authors noted that the flea had not been previously reported (on deer) and was considered an accidental parasite.