Atlas of the fleas (Siphonaptera) of Britain and Ireland

Fleas (Siphonaptera) are wingless insects that are usually found in the nests, or on the bodies, of a wide range of mammals and birds. Some 60 species of flea occur in Britain although approximately 2,600 species and subspecies have been described worldwide. This atlas presents the results of the flea recording scheme to the end of 2006. Bob George, a former RAF pilot and schoolteacher, began collecting information about British (and Irish) fleas in about 1950, encouraged by the Hon. Miriam Rothschild and others. His work was recognised as a national recording scheme in 1964 by the Biological Records Centre (BRC), and the first edition of a “Flea Atlas” was published by BRC in 1974. Since then Bob has identified hundreds of thousands more fleas. This new Atlas includes distribution maps, species accounts, details about flea hosts, and a range of other information.