Amblyomma Inornatum (Acarina: Ixodidae): Natural Hosts and Laboratory Biology12

Abstract

In a survey of ticks collected from native wild hosts in South Texas, Amblyomma inornatum (Banks) was recorded for the first time parasitizing Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) and Badger (Taxidea taxus); additionally, this tick was collected from Collared Peccary (Tayassu tajacu), Coyote (Canis latrans), Raccoon (Procyon lotor), Bobcat (Lynx rufus), and Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus). Adult ticks of this species collected from their natural hosts in the field were colonized in the laboratory with guinea pigs as hosts of all 3 parasitic stages. Details of the laboratory biology of all 3 stages and linear measurements of the immature stages of A. inornatum are presented. Although engorged females of A. inornatum weighed less than engorged females of other Amblyomma species, most other aspects of the life cycle in the laboratory were very similar to those of the other Amblyomma spp. previously studied in the United States. The weights and linear body measurements of male and female A. inornatum differed greatly. Indeed, the sexes could be separated on the basis of the weight of engorged nymphs immediately after repletion and detachment.