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Abstract
Extract
Michael (Citation1889) recorded that while in Derbyshire, England, he found very active mites “running up and down the spines of hedgehogs with great rapidity” and described these as Symbiotes ( = Caparinia) tripilis, their most distinctive feature being three long hairs borne on the third and fourth pairs of legs. Michael figured the female mite but could find no males among his specimens. The mite is still found on British hedgehogs but as a rare; or occasional parasite (Morris and English, Citation1973). German hedgehogs, however, have been reported as dying from Caparinia infestations (Krumbiegel, Citation1930–1) and no fewer than 72% of the hedgehog Erinaceus albiventris examined at Nairobi, Kenya, were infested with Caparinia erinacei (Gregory, Citation1974a, Citationb). These African Caparinia were of low pathogenicity, feeding on exuded body fluids without burrowing into the skin. Another mite, Notoedres cati, often occurs in conjunction with C. erinacei and sometimes disables the hosts.
