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

Ioffe-uspensky, Inna; Uspensky, İgor

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2017.07.003

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This is unsurprising as the genus Ixodes are prostriate ticks in which copulation can occur off the host and unfed females can be inseminated prior to host attachment 34 . Although males can be found on hosts, they do not require an adult bloodmeal 35 . Therefore, they were not the focus of our study.…”

Section: Scapularis Attachment Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated Ambient Carbon Dioxide Levels Induce Attraction but Not Attachment of Adult Ixodes scapularis in Artificial Membrane Feeding

Breitbach,

Lai

2024

MSURJ

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Numerous feeding studies on tick species have explored disease transmission, vector interactions, and acaricide testing. Traditionally, these studies used animals for feeding. However, artificial membrane feeding offers several advantages including increased standardization of experiments, decreased costs, and improved animal welfare. In vitro conditions must closely mimic natural environments to promote successful feeding attachment. Kairomones produced by the host are strong stimulants that encourage attachment. An important kairomone detected by ticks is carbon dioxide (CO2). Previous studies have shown elevated CO2 levels stimulate host identification and attraction and potentially improve artificial feeding rates in some tick species. The objective of this study was to use an artificial membrane feeding chamber prototype to explore the effects of ambient CO2 in inducing Ixodes scapularis attachment. Differences in attachment rate were explored at an air-typical ambient CO2 level of 0.04% and an elevated CO2 level of 4.0%. Tick attachment was not detected in either ambient CO2 condition during the incubation period, indicating ambient CO2 does not impact the attachment rate under the presented condition. However, I. scapularis contact with the artificial membrane occurred at an increased rate of 0.014 female ticks in contact with the membrane per hour in the elevated CO2 condition (4%) compared with a rate of 0.01 ticks per hour in the air-typical CO2 condition (0.04%) (p = 0.048) suggesting that the ambient CO2 level affects attraction to the blood but does not directly stimulate attachment of I. scapularis.

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Section: Scapularis Attachment Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated Ambient Carbon Dioxide Levels Induce Attraction but Not Attachment of Adult Ixodes scapularis in Artificial Membrane Feeding

Breitbach,

Lai

2024

MSURJ

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“…The mating process has an impact on the course and efficiency of feeding of female ticks, egg development, oviposition [48][49][50], and, consequently, the size and structure of the tick population. I. ricinus females cannot fully engorge without mating [51] (authors' observations), likewise in other species of ixodid ticks, such as Ixodes persulcatus [52]. Virgin females of ixodid ticks do not lay eggs [50].…”

Section: Introduction and Objectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Copulation of <i>Ixodes ricinus</i> males and females on the host and its potential impact on pathogen transmission

Buczek,

Asman

et al. 2023

Ann Agric Environ Med.

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Introduction and Objective. The common tick Ixodes ricinus is one of Europe's most important vectors of tick-borne diseases. The increased risk of attacks by this tick suggests the need for identification of factors contributing to the transmission of tick-borne pathogens, and the routes of pathogen circulation in nature. Materials and method. Polymerase chain reaction was used to investigate the prevalence of four pathogens, i.e. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. (Bb), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Ap), Babesia spp. (Bs), and Bartonella spp. (Ba) in I. ricinus females and males mating on dogs in south-central Poland.Results. The study revealed the presence of three pathogens: Bb, Ap, and Bs in 9.4%, 5.4%, and 5.4% of all I. ricinus adults in copula, respectively. Co-infection with two pathogens was detected in one tick specimen. Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes were isolated in two females and two males in copula, but the sexual transfer of the spirochetes between these specimens could not be clearly confirmed. Conclusions. By increasing the feeding dynamics in females, the copulation of I. ricinus males with females attached to the host's skin may stimulate pathogen replication in tick tissues and migration from the gut to the salivary glands. Further investigations of the I. ricinus copulation on the host on female feeding and pathogen transmission may contribute to the elucidation of the eco-epidemiology of tick-borne diseases transmitted by this tick species.

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The phenomenon of attachment and feeding of unfed ticks (Ixodoidea) on fed and feeding specimens of the same or different species: biological and epidemiological issues

Uspensky

2024

Parazitologiâ

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Hyperparasitism, characterized by attachment and feeding of unfed ticks on engorged or feeding specimens of the same species (tick-to-tick attachment and feeding) has been extensively documented in laboratory colonies of ticks of the Ixodoidea superfamily. Existing literature generally assumes that hyperparasitism operates similarly across tick species in both main families, Argasidae and Ixodidae. However, a closer examination of the available data reveals distinct biological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon in different groups. In argasid ticks, hyperparasitism in laboratory colonies primarily involves unfed specimens stealing blood from their fed relatives, especially under stress of starvation or overcrowding. It remains uncertain whether this behavior of argasid ticks occurs under field conditions. If it does happen naturally, it may have originated as a consequence of the nidicolous lifestyle exhibited by soft ticks. In Ixodes ticks (Ixodinae or Prostriata), hyperparasitism of males on unfed or feeding females appears to be a side-effect in the male attempts to copulate while hyperparasitism in Amblyomminae (Metastriata) ticks is likely an aberration in feeding. This difference between Argasidae and Ixodidae may stem from independent adaptation to blood-feeding within the two Ixodoidea families. Experimental evidence of pathogen transmission between aggressor and victim during hyperparasitic feeding has only been demonstrated under laboratory conditions specifically in Ornithodoros species (Argasidae). The practical importance of this route of pathogen transmission is still unclear. Although there is an assumption in the literature that hyperparasitic pathogen transmission occurs in the taiga tick Ixodes persulcatus, it is important to know that no current data is available to support this presumption.

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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

Cited by 4 publications

References 37 publications

Elevated Ambient Carbon Dioxide Levels Induce Attraction but Not Attachment of Adult Ixodes scapularis in Artificial Membrane Feeding

Elevated Ambient Carbon Dioxide Levels Induce Attraction but Not Attachment of Adult Ixodes scapularis in Artificial Membrane Feeding

Copulation of <i>Ixodes ricinus</i> males and females on the host and its potential impact on pathogen transmission

The phenomenon of attachment and feeding of unfed ticks (Ixodoidea) on fed and feeding specimens of the same or different species: biological and epidemiological issues

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