The Subgenus Persicargas (Ixodoidea, Argasidae, Argas). 3. The Life Cycle of A. (P.) arboreus, and a Standardized Rearing Method for Argasid Ticks1

Abstract

The life cycle of Argas (Persicargas) arboreus Kaiser, Hoogstraal, and Kohls reared at 27°C and 75% RH requires approximately 3 months. Details are provided for each developmental stage and instar. Survival periods recorded for each when unfed suggest that should the bird hosts fail to return to their usual nests for 1 year, the existence of the tick deme would be severely jeopardized, and that larvae and first-instar nymphs are unable to remain alive during the winter when heron hosts are absent from nesting sites. The standardized model laboratory rearing method for argasid ticks developed for this study and described in detail is useful for various biological research needs and for obtaining large numbers of uninfectcd ticks for microbiological investigations. Using these techniques, it was observed that oviposition is delayed, even under controlled laboratory conditions, in winter collections of female ticks from both Egypt and South Africa. Laboratory chickens and pigeons appeared to develop resistance to bites of these ticks but, in some instances, to succumb to tick paralysis during the parasites' feeding. Bird hosts from which ticks were removed in the early stages of paralysis appeared to be immune to paralysis for at least a year following recovery.