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ARS Home » Plains Area » Kerrville, Texas » Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory » LAPRU » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #345653
Research Project: Cattle Fever Tick Control and Eradication

Location: Livestock Arthropod Pests Research

Title: Life cycle of Amblyomma mixtum (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing different hosts under laboratory conditions

Author
item BARRADAS PIÑA, FRANCISCO - Instituto Nacional De Investigaciones Forestales Y Agropecuarias (INIFAP)
item DA SILVA RODRIGUES, VINICIUS - Embrapa
item DE OLIVERIA SOUZA HI, LEANDRO - Embrapa
item VALÉRIO GARCIA, MARCOS - Embrapa
item CAVALCANTE BARROS, JACQUELINE - Embrapa
item Perez De Leon, Adalberto - Beto
item ANDREOTTI, RENATO - Embrapa

Submitted to: Experimental and Applied Acarology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/5/2017
Publication Date: 9/9/2017
Citation: Barradas Piña, F., Da Silva Rodrigues, V., De Oliveria Souza Hi, L., Valério Garcia, M., Cavalcante Barros, J., Perez De Leon, A.A., Andreotti, R. 2017. Life cycle of Amblyomma mixtum (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing different hosts under laboratory conditions. Experimental and Applied Acarology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-017-0178-y.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-017-0178-y

Interpretive Summary: The tick species scientifically known as Amblyomma mixtum transmits microbes that can cause disease in animals and humans. The known geographic range of A. mixtum extends from Texas in the USA to western Ecuador and some islands in the Caribbean. The objective of this study was to describe the life cycle of A. mixtum under laboratory conditions. Several hosts were infested with the different life stages of the tick under controlled conditions to assess biological parameters. The average life cycle of A. mixtum was 88 and 79 days when fed on rabbits and cattle, respectively. Sheep were found to be unsuitable hosts because no ticks attached. The rabbit is a more practical host to maintain a colony of A. mixtum under laboratory conditions. Caution must be exercised when comparing the data from this laboratory study to the biology of A. mixtum in its natural habitat.

Technical Abstract: Amblyomma mixtum is a tick species in the Amblyomma cajennense complex. The known geographic range of A. mixtum extends from Texas in the USA to western Ecuador and some islands in the Caribbean. Amblyomma mixtum is a vector of disease agents of veterinary and public health importance. The objective of this study was to describe the life cycle of A. mixtum under laboratory conditions. Bovines, rabbits and sheep were infested with larvae, nymphs, and adult ticks under controlled conditions to assess several biological parameters. Eggs, larvae, nymphs and adults were kept in an incubator (27 degrees C temperature and 80% relative humidity) when they were off the host. The average life cycle of A. mixtum was 88 and 79 days when fed on rabbits and cattle, respectively. Sheep were found to be unsuitable because no ticks attached. The rabbit is a more practical host to maintain a colony of A. mixtum under laboratory conditions. The data from this study can be considered as an example for the life cycle of A. mixtum. However, caution must be exercised when making comparisons to the biology of A. mixtum in its natural habitat.