The influence of preprandial insemination on feeding and oviposition of Ixodes persulcatus females (Acari: Ixodidae) and some thoughts concerning mating strategies in ticks of the genus Ixodes.

Prostriate ticks (subfamily Ixodinae, genus Ixodes) can copulate and the females can be inseminated before attachment to the host. In tests with Ixodes persulcatus females collected in the field and fed without males on the host, it was shown that this preprandial insemination is necessary and sufficient for successful engorgement and oviposition if female feeding took place in up to 1 month after collection. A 2-month period between preprandial insemination and female feeding was followed by a significant decrease in the proportion of normally engorged females and significant increase in egg mortality.

Potential risk of pathogen transmission by acaricide-poisoned ticks.

Many aspects of tick poisoning with acaricides have yet to be elucidated. One of them is the influence of acaricide poisoning on tick infectivity to their hosts. To clarify this problem, we should know how tick poisoning develops after acaricide application.

The dog factor in brown dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations in and near human dwellings.

Three cases of the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus infiltration in or near human dwellings caused by dogs, and their influence on epidemiological features of human habitats have been investigated. (a) The observation of dogs kept indoors proved that single tick females could engorge and oviposit inside apartments followed by the development of subadults. (b) Abundant micropopulations of ticks were formed in small yards or gardens near the dwellings where dogs lived in kennels.