Ticks use bloodmeals as a source of nutrients and energy to molt and survive until the next meal and to oviposit, in the case of females. However, only the larvae of some tick species are known to feed upon bats; females are obligatorily autogenous, and nymphal stages are believed to not feed. We investigated the presence of blood in a natural population of nymphal Antricola delacruzi ticks collected from bat guano; their ability to feed upon laboratory hosts; and the microscopic structure of both salivary glands and gut. DNA amplification of gut contents of freshly collected material was positive for a mammal in 4 of 11 first instar nymphs, but we were unsuccesful in the amplification of host bloodmeal DNA from late instar nymphs. All early nymphal stages (n = 10) fed on rabbits, and host DNA was detected and sequenced from gut contents. However, all the large nymphs (n = 10) rejected feeding, and host DNA remained undetected in these ticks. All stages of A. delacruzi have salivary glands similar in morphology to the ixodid agranular Type I salivary gland acini and to granular Type II or Type B acini. All stages of A. delacruzi had a similar gut structure, consisting of digestive cells in the basal portion that contained hematin granules. Neither regenerative nor secretory cell traces were observed in the sections of gut.
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August 2008
RESEARCH NOTES|
August 01 2008
Observations on Antricola Ticks: Small Nymphs Feed on Mammalian Hosts and Have a Salivary Gland Structure Similar to Ixodid Ticks
A. Estrada-Peña;
A. Estrada-Peña
aDepartment of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
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J. M. Venzal;
J. M. Venzal
aDepartment of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
bDepartment of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Av. Alberto Lasplaces 1620, CP 11600 Montevideo, Uruguay
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Katherine M. Kocan;
Katherine M. Kocan
aDepartment of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
cDepartment of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078 U.S.A.
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C. Tramuta;
C. Tramuta
aDepartment of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
dDipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Epidemiologia, Ecologia, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Leonardo da Vinci, 44, 10095 Grugliasco (TO), Italy
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L. Tomassone;
L. Tomassone
aDepartment of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
dDipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Epidemiologia, Ecologia, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Leonardo da Vinci, 44, 10095 Grugliasco (TO), Italy
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J. de la Fuente;
J. de la Fuente
aDepartment of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
cDepartment of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078 U.S.A.
eInstituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
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M. Labruna
M. Labruna
aDepartment of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
fDepartment of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Veterinary Faculty, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. [email protected]
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J Parasitol (2008) 94 (4): 953–955.
Citation
A. Estrada-Peña, J. M. Venzal, Katherine M. Kocan, C. Tramuta, L. Tomassone, J. de la Fuente, M. Labruna; Observations on Antricola Ticks: Small Nymphs Feed on Mammalian Hosts and Have a Salivary Gland Structure Similar to Ixodid Ticks. J Parasitol 1 August 2008; 94 (4): 953–955. doi: https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-1371.1
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