Bartosik Katarzyna, Buczek Alicja
Chair and Department of Biology and Parasitology, Medical University, Lublin, Poland.
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2013;20(3):441-6.
Ixodes ricinus is a tick commonly found on human and animals and of great medical and veterinary importance. The aim of the study was to determine the parameters of different stages of feeding in Ixodes ricinus females.
229 Ixodes ricinus females were collected from 102 animals--roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) culled in southern and south-eastern Poland in 2002. Each female was weighed and the length and width of the scutum as well as the width of the idiosoma were measured. 20 tick females were collected from vegetation growing in the region and analysed in order to compare the changes in the parameters studied to those exhibited by unengorged specimens.
Three groups were identified on the basis of female body weight; group I consisted of 52 females in feeding phase I with body weight in the range of 0.0003-0.0043 g (mean 0.0019 g), group II comprised 150 females in feeding phase II with weight in the range of 0.0017-0.3075 g (mean 0.0263 g), and group III consisted of 27 females in feeding phase III with weight in the range of 0.0904-0.3122 g (mean 0.1913 g). Indices characterizing the various feeding phases, such as body index, scutal index, alloscutal index, growth index, engorgement index I and II, and the relative body mass index, were determined. The investigations demonstrated that the values of the morphometric traits in feeding phase I, II and III differe in I. ricinus females.
The values of the morphometric features and indices can be helpful in identification of the parasitic stage of I. ricinus females removed from host skin, and assessment of the risk of infection of the host with various parasites injected with tick saliva at the respective feeding phases.
蓖麻硬蜱是一种常见于人和动物身上的蜱虫，具有重大的医学和兽医学意义。本研究的目的是确定蓖麻硬蜱雌蜱不同取食阶段的参数。
2002年从波兰南部和东南部被扑杀的102只动物（狍和马鹿）身上采集了229只蓖麻硬蜱雌蜱。对每只雌蜱进行称重，并测量盾板的长度和宽度以及虫体宽度。从该地区生长的植被中采集了20只蜱雌蜱进行分析，以便将所研究参数的变化与未饱血标本的变化进行比较。
根据雌蜱体重分为三组；第一组由52只处于取食第一阶段的雌蜱组成，体重范围为0.0003 - 0.0043克（平均0.0019克），第二组包括150只处于取食第二阶段的雌蜱，体重范围为0.0017 - 0.3075克（平均0.0263克），第三组由27只处于取食第三阶段的雌蜱组成，体重范围为0.0904 - 0.3122克（平均0.1913克）。确定了表征不同取食阶段的指标，如身体指数、盾板指数、全盾板指数、生长指数、饱血指数I和II以及相对体重指数。研究表明，蓖麻硬蜱雌蜱在取食第一阶段、第二阶段和第三阶段的形态特征值存在差异。
形态特征和指标的值有助于识别从宿主皮肤上采集的蓖麻硬蜱雌蜱的寄生阶段，并评估宿主在各个取食阶段被蜱唾液注入的各种寄生虫感染的风险。
