Chair and Department of Biology and Parasitology, Medical University of Lublin, Radziwiłłowska 11 St., 20-080, Lublin, Poland.
Institute of Parasitology and Institute of Zoology, SAS, Hlinkova 3, 04001, Kosice, Slovakia.
Sci Rep. 2021 May 28;11(1):11310. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-90871-7.
Ixodiphagus endoparasitoid wasps are natural tick enemies that can reduce their abundance. In this study, we investigated the presence of Ixodiphagus hookeri in Haemaphysalis concinna and Ixodes ricinus ticks in the Slovak Karst (southern Slovakia) and analysed the ecological and physiological relationships in the parasitoid-host system. Unfed H. concinna and I. ricinus nymphs harvested from vegetation were fed on rabbits. The engorged specimens were kept at 25 °C and 75% RH until the emergence of the adult wasps. For the first time in Europe, we found the presence of I. hookeri in two species of ticks collected in the same locality and compared their development in these tick species. The prevalence of wasps in H. concinna and I. ricinus during their spring activity was estimated at 10.64% and 27.78%, respectively. The presence of the wasps did not affect the duration of nymph feeding. Engorged wasp-infected ticks achieved higher body mass than non-infected specimens. In both tick species, there were no differences in the length of the development period and the number and sex ratio of adult I. hookeri. The analysed indicators and characteristics of the I. hookeri wasp-tick system can be used in research on tick control.
食蜱钝绥螨是一种天然的蜱类天敌，能够降低蜱的数量。本研究调查了斯洛伐克喀斯特地区（斯洛伐克南部）兔形目钝绥螨在硬蜱属和璃眼蜱属蜱中的存在情况，并分析了寄生蜂-宿主系统中的生态和生理关系。从植被中采集的未进食的硬蜱属若蜱和璃眼蜱属若蜱被喂食兔子。饱血的标本在 25°C 和 75%RH 下保存，直到成年寄生蜂出现。我们首次在欧洲发现，在同一地点采集的两种蜱中存在兔形目钝绥螨，并比较了它们在这些蜱种中的发育情况。在春季活动期间，硬蜱属和璃眼蜱属中寄生蜂的流行率分别估计为 10.64%和 27.78%。寄生蜂的存在并不影响若蜱的取食时间。饱血的感染寄生蜂的蜱比未感染的标本具有更高的体重。在这两种蜱中，寄生蜂的发育周期长度、成虫数量和性别比例均无差异。分析的指标和兔形目钝绥螨-蜱系统的特征可用于蜱类控制的研究。
