Studies on the survival of the non-parasitic stages of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus in three climatically dissimilar districts of North Queensland

Abstract

Survival of the non-parasitic stages of the cattle tick, Boophilus microplus (Canestrini), has been investigated over a period of 5 years in 25, 40, and 80 in. rainfall districts of north Queensland. Engorged ticks were exposed regularly in field plots and in Stevenson screens, and the times of egg hatchmg (prehatch period) and periods of survival of the larvae were observed. The prehatch period in the three districts followed the same pattern and was related to seasonal temperature changes, varying from less than 4 weeks in midsummer to over 13 weeks in midwinter. A relationship between minimum prehatch period and mean air temperature for ticks exposed in screens was established, but the data from ticks exposed in the field were too variable to establish a relationship between prehatch periods and soil temperatures. Hatching was recorded in every month of the year from all districts, but during the driest months in the 25 in. rainfall areas many ticks in exposed situations failed to reproduce. Larval survival and total longevity also followed a similar pattern in all districts. The longest survival periods were recorded for the progeny of ticks exposed late in the wet season from March to April, and the shortest survival periods for the progeny of ticks exposed during the dry season from August to September. Mean maximum total longevity for ticks exposed in field plots in the 25 in. rainfall district varied from 10 to 22 weeks, in the 40 in. rainfall district from 14 to 22 weeks, and in the 80 in. rainfall district from 15 to 26 weeks. The data on prehatch and survival periods are a suitable basis for formulating recommendations for tick control by pasture spelling and planned dipping.

Detection of acaricidal resistance in Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum from Banaskantha district, Gujarat

“…The incidence of acaricide resistance is higher in one host ticks because a much larger fraction of the total population of such species remains under chemical challenge at any one time than multi host ticks. In addition to it, a single generation of multi-host tick may extend over up to 3 years compared to 2-3 months in one host tick (Harley 1966).…”

Comparative reproduction and nonparasitic development of Boophilus microplus and hybridized Boophilus ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) under natural field conditions in subtropical South Texas

“…microplus in areas outside the U.S. (Snowball, 1957;Wilkinson and Wilson, 1959;Hall and Wilkinson, 1960;Harley, 1966;McCulloch and Lewis, 1968;Cerny and de la Cruz, 1971;Owen, 1975;Sutherst, 1983, Sutherst et al, 1988Short et al, 1989;Garris et al, 1990). Most recent studies of the effects of temperature and humidity on oviposition and longevity in B. microplus ticks in the US have been conducted in the laboratory (Davey et al, 1980;Davcy and Cooksey, 1989;.…”

A Modification of Pasture Spelling to Reduce Acaricide Treatments for Cattle Tick Control

“…microplus reported by Hitchcock (1955); Snowball (1957); Wilkinson and Wilson ( 1959) ;Harley ( 1966) ; McCulloch and Lewis (1968) indicated that placing cattle in small, initially tick-free "disinfestation" paddocks (DP) for appropriate periods of time might free them of ticks. This method should be effective if cattle grazed a DP for a period of sufficient duration to allow all ticks on the animals to mature and fall, but too short to allow progeny of these ticks to hatch and reinfest the cattle, Ideally then, cattle would drop their tick burden in a DP, graze a major grazing paddock (MGP) until tick infestation approached an unacceptable level, drop these ticks in a DP and repeat this rotation indefinitely.…”