Ticks infesting livestock on farms in Western Sicily, Italy.

The results of a 2-year survey on ticks infesting livestock on farms in Western Sicily, Italy, are reported. Several dogs living in the same area were also examined for ticks. Moreover, free-living ticks from one cattle farm were caught by CO(2) traps and flagging. A total of 6208 specimens was collected belonging to 9 species: Rhipicephalus bursa (32.4%), Rhipicephalus turanicus (22.7%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (19.3%), Hyalomma lusitanicum (12.0%), Haemaphysalis punctata (7.8%), Hyalomma marginatum (3.5%), Dermacentor marginatus (1.4%), Ixodes ricinus (0.8%) and Ixodes hexagonus (0.1%). The species belonging to the genus Rhipicephalus were present on all hosts and habitats monitored, R. bursa was found to be abundant on cattle (46.3%) and sheep (62.0%), R. sanguineus was prevalent on dogs (50.4%), and R. turanicus on donkeys (41.0%) and as free-living species (48.5%).