Parasite Atlas

The goal of this page is to provide you with a guide to help you identify common cutaneous parasites of dogs and cats that you may encounter in your clinic. These are microscopic images, and reflect what you would find on an appropriate superficial or deep skin scraping, or trichogram.

Appropriate magnification settings are different for each parasite (usually 10x or 40x), and remember to drop the condenser and close the aperture to maximize contrast and enhance visualization of the parasites you are looking for.

For treatment of these parasites, you may be able to find recommendations on other areas of the Dermavet website (Clinical Cases, Forums, Bibliography). If you are unable to find what you are looking for, feel free to ask in the clinical cases Forum.

Cutaneous parasites of the dog
Common Name	Scientific Name	Life Stage	Photos
Mites
Demodex	Demodex canis	Adult
	Demodex cornei	Adult
	Demodex injai	Adult
		Egg
Scabies	Sarcoptes scabiei	Male adult
		Female adult
		Eggs
		Feces
Cheyletiella (“Walking Dandruff”)	Cheyletiella yasguri	Adult
		Egg
Harvest mite, chigger	Trombicula autumnalis	Larva
Brown dog tick	Rhipicephalus sanguineus	Adult
Castor bean tick	Ixodes ricinus	Adult
American dog tick	Dermacentor variabilis	Adult
Insects
Biting louse	Trichodectes canis	Adult
Sucking louse	Linognathus setosus	Adult
		Egg
Flea (cat flea)	Ctenocephalides felis	Adult
		Egg
		Larva
		Feces
Cutaneous parasites of the cat
Mites
Demodex	Demodex cati	Adult
	Demodex gatoi	Adult
		Egg
Feline Scabies	Notoedres cati	Adulte
Cheyletiella (“Walking Dandruff”)	Cheyletiella blakei	Adult
		Egg
Harvest mite, chigger	Trombicula autumnalis	Larva
Ticks	Rhipicephalus sanguineus	Adult
	Ixodes ricinus	Adult
	Dermacentor reticulatus	Adult
Insects
Lice	Felicola subrostratus	Adult
		Egg
Flea (cat flea)	Ctenocephalides canis	Adult
		Egg
		Larva
		Feces