The development and questing activity ofIxodes ricinus(L.) (Acari: Ixodidae) under field conditions in Ireland

Abstract

AbstractDevelopment rates of engorged examples ofIxodes ricinus(L.) and the onset and duration of questing activity of unfed ticks were investigated in gauze cages in the field in the Irish Republic. Development rates of the various stages were broadly similar to those described in other studies but differed in small detail from most of them. It was found that larvae that fed during or after the first two weeks of August entered diapause. The activity periods of questing ticks were found to agree closely with observations made in the field, and the origins of the various peaks in tick activity in the field were thus elucidated. It was established that considerable interchange between autumn-feeding and spring-feeding populations of ticks can occur, and it is concluded that the extent of this is largely controlled by the weather, being accentuated by high summer temperatures.