Adaptation of field strains of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus Neumann (Acarina: Ixodidae) to host resistance.

A comparison of feeding and breeding performance was made between a laboratory strain (LS) and two freshly collected field strains (FS1, FS2) of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus. The LS had been cultured for over 30 years on tick-susceptible rabbits. When fed on susceptible rabbits LS produced smaller eggs and unfed larvae, nymphs and adults than those of FS.