Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Zootecnia, Università degli Studi di Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
Parasitology. 2011 Apr;138(4):527-36. doi: 10.1017/S0031182010001502. Epub 2010 Nov 16.
Rhipicephalus sanguineus is the most widespread tick in the world and a vector of many pathogens infecting dogs and humans. To date, there have been no investigations on the biology of R. sanguineus under natural Mediterranean climatic conditions.
The biology of R. sanguineus was studied under laboratory and natural climatic conditions in southern Italy. Several biological parameters were compared in different seasons, and their correlation with climatic data was assessed.
The life cycle of R. sanguineus lasted for a mean of 101·4 and 116·2 days under laboratory and environmental conditions respectively. Reproductive parameters of wild-collected females kept in the environment in May were significantly different from first-generation females maintained in September-October, and the correlation between reproductive parameters and climate data varied according to season.
These results indicate that the Mediterranean climate affects the biology of R. sanguineus, which compensates its losses during the initial phases of its cycle in spring with high feeding and moulting rates of larvae and nymphs during summer as well as with high egg production during autumn. These results advance our knowledge of the biology of R. sanguineus and will be useful for the understanding of the eco-epidemiology of tick-borne diseases that this tick transmits.
血红扇头蜱是世界上分布最广泛的蜱虫，也是许多感染犬只和人类的病原体的传播媒介。迄今为止，尚未有针对血红扇头蜱在自然地中海气候条件下的生物学研究。
在意大利南部的实验室和自然气候条件下研究了血红扇头蜱的生物学特性。比较了不同季节的多个生物学参数，并评估了它们与气候数据的相关性。
在实验室和环境条件下，血红扇头蜱的生命周期分别平均为 101.4 天和 116.2 天。在 5 月野外采集的雌性蜱虫在环境中饲养的生殖参数与 9 月至 10 月维持的第一代雌性蜱虫有显著差异，生殖参数与气候数据的相关性因季节而异。
这些结果表明，地中海气候会影响血红扇头蜱的生物学特性，使其在春季的初始阶段通过幼虫和若虫的高摄食和蜕皮率以及秋季的高产卵量来弥补损失。这些结果增进了我们对血红扇头蜱生物学特性的了解，有助于理解该蜱虫传播的蜱媒疾病的生态流行病学。
