Fourie L J, van der Lingen F, Kok D J
Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the OFS, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Exp Appl Acarol. 1995 Feb;19(2):93-101. doi: 10.1007/BF00052549.
The responsiveness of Ixodes rubicundus ticks on questing substrates and the success of their attachment to non-living substrates were investigated. The purpose of this study was to relate responsiveness to conditions of temperature and humidity, to compare the efficacy of flagging and dragging methods to estimate the size of populations of adult I. rubicundus in the field, and to determine the possible influence of host odour on the efficacy of these methods. Responsiveness was tested under varying conditions of temperature and humidity under field conditions, and the same ticks were used to determine the duration of attachment to a flannel cloth, either impregnated with host odour from sheep wool or without it. Flagging and dragging methods were compared under laboratory conditions with cloths either treated with host odour or not. Within the range of ambient temperatures recorded during this study (7-25 degrees C) most of the ticks (86%) were responsive. No obvious relationship between temperature, relative humidity and responsiveness of ticks was evident. Ticks remained on average 32.9 seconds (n = 64) on cloth treated with host odour compared to 9.1 seconds (n = 54) on untreated cloth. Flagging was 1.5-1.7 times as effective as dragging and treatment of the cloths with host odour increased the efficacy 2.4 (dragging) to 2.8 (flagging) times. The reactions of ticks to external stimuli should, therefore, be taken into account to maximize field sampling success.
研究了红硬蜱在搜寻基质上的反应性及其附着于非生物基质的成功率。本研究的目的是将反应性与温度和湿度条件相关联，比较标记法和拖拽法在野外估计成年红硬蜱种群数量的效果，并确定宿主气味对这些方法效果的可能影响。在野外条件下，在不同的温度和湿度条件下测试反应性，并使用相同的蜱来确定其附着在浸渍有羊毛宿主气味或未浸渍宿主气味的法兰绒布上的持续时间。在实验室条件下，比较标记法和拖拽法对用或未用宿主气味处理的布的效果。在本研究记录的环境温度范围内（7 - 25摄氏度），大多数蜱（86%）有反应。蜱的温度、相对湿度和反应性之间没有明显关系。与未处理的布相比，蜱在浸渍有宿主气味的布上平均停留32.9秒（n = 64），而在未处理的布上平均停留9.1秒（n = 54）。标记法的效果是拖拽法的1.5 - 1.7倍，用宿主气味处理布使拖拽法的效果提高2.4倍，使标记法的效果提高2.8倍。因此，为了最大限度地提高野外采样成功率，应考虑蜱对外部刺激的反应。
