Abstract
The study of the dispersal mechanisms of organisms is key to understanding their ecology and diversity. The dispersal of parasites is usually mediated by their host.
Cimicidae (Heteroptera) is a family of haematophagous ectoparasites for whom bats are the most common and original host. Cimicids spend most of their time in the bat roost, usually only attaching themselves to the body of their host to feed.
Distances between bat roosts are too great for the bugs to cross so their transmissions between them are exclusively passive. In our study we present records of bugs found on bats outside roosts.
Since adult bugs are more likely to start a new infestation, their high prevalence among these records suggests that the bugs intentionally remain attached to their host in order to disperse, rather than accidentally leaving the roost while feeding. The vast majority of the records come from the genus Nyctalus and some from the genus Pipistrellus, whilst only single findings come from other species.
It is possible that this disproportion is caused by the different behaviour of bugs on different bat species. The frequency of transmissions of cimicids by particular bat species correlate with the extent of the migratory behaviour of the bats.
However, it is also possible that it is caused by an unequal opportunity to fly out attached to the bat due to the different roosting ecology and behaviour of the bat species.