6.2 Fleas and Ticks Flashcards

1
Q

What are fleas called? What is the most common type

A

Siphonaptera; Ctenocephalides

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2
Q

Hosts of fleas are _________ but some have _______________ tastes

A

preferred; cosmopolitan

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3
Q

what is the general appearance of fleas (4)

A

wingless, laterally compressed, have genal and pronotal combs, have long legs (they tried to put me on the cover of Vogue, but my legs were toooo long)

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4
Q

what type of life cycle do fleas have

A

complex metamorphosis: Eggs -> Larvae -> Pupae -> Adults

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5
Q

Where do flea larvae and pupae live? What about adults?

A

Larvae and pupae live in the environment; adults can live on the host or move on and off

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6
Q

what is the significance of the setae (spines) on fleas

A

they are backwards facing and make removal of the flea challenging

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7
Q

how can you tell apart a dipteran larvae (maggot) from a flea larvae (maggot)

A

flea maggots have a brown head and anal struts

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8
Q

what do adult fleas vs larvae feed on?

A

adults feed on blood from the host; larvae feed on flea dirt, which is undigested blood produced by the adult fleas

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9
Q

what is the life cycle of fleas

A

adults living on the animal feed and produce eggs that drop to the ground along with flea dirt in source spots -> larvae and pupae in favorable environment -> pupae give rise to more adults

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10
Q

what are the 3 conditions for good flea source spots

A

1) dog or cat spends considerable time
2) lots of flea dirt
3) little or no human or animal traffic

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11
Q

in a typical cat flea colony, what lifestage contributes the largest percentage to the total population/colony size

A

eggs (50%), adults only 5%

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12
Q

what range of problems can flea infestations cause in dogs and cats

A

ranges from no reaction to flea allergy dermatitis (highly allergic, pruritic, dermatitis)

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13
Q

what is flea allergy dermatitis responding to

A

salivary secretions

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14
Q

what are some ways to diagnose flea infestations

A

1) observe flea dirt using a water test
2) clinical signs of scratching, licking, chewing
3) directly observing flea dirt or fleas

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15
Q

how can we treat flea infestations

A
  • change the environment: dehumidify, vacuuming, cleaning of source spots
  • apply insecticides
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16
Q

what are the main types of insecticides for treating fleas

A
  • insect growth regulators
  • quick knock down insecticides
  • insecticides with residual activity
  • adulticides
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17
Q

what is the difference between larvacides and adulticides for treating fleas

A

larvacides contain growth inhibitors or chitin inhibitors to prevent growth of larvae and pupae but will not kill existing adults

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18
Q

what is the life cycle of arachnida -> ticks and mites? is this simple or complex metamorphosis?

A

egg -> larvae -> nymph -> adult

simple metamorphosis

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19
Q

how can we tell apart the larvae vs nymph vs adult ticks and mites

A

larvae: 6 legs
nymph: 8 legs, no sex organs)
adults: 8 legs, sex organs

20
Q

what do ticks look like?

A

compact, leathery body, have a capitulum with an armed hypostome

21
Q

how do we tell apart ticks from mites

A

ticks are approx 10x larger than mites and ticks have an armed hypostome whereas mites have an unarmed hypostome

22
Q

what are the parts of the capitulum

A

basis capitulum, palps, hypostome

23
Q

soft ticks come from the family __________________ whereas hard ticks come from the family ____________

A

Argasidae, Ixodidae

24
Q

what are the differences between hard ticks and soft ticks (3)

A

hard ticks have a scutum whereas soft ticks do not

the capitulum on hard ticks is terminal and anterior whereas it is ventral and subterminal on soft ticks

feeding takes several days in hard ticks vs minutes to hours in soft ticks

25
Q

where are tick eggs laid (on or off the host)? what do adults feed on?

A

off; blood

26
Q

are ticks mechanical or biological vectors of pathogens and why?

A

biological; due to repetitive blood feeding

27
Q

all soft ticks are what type of host ticks

28
Q

describe 1 vs 2 vs 3 stage ticks

A

1: Larvae attaches to host, feeds, molts to nymph, feeds, molts to adult, feeds, drops off host to lay eggs

2: Larvae attaches to host 1, feeds, molts to nymph, feeds, drops off host, molts to adult, attaches to host 2, feeds, drops off host to lay eggs

3: Larvae attaches to host 1, feeds, drops off host, molts to nymph, attaches to host 2, feeds, drops off host, molts to adult, feeds, drops off host to lay eggs

29
Q

what are the 4 main types of hard ticks

A

Dermacentor spp. (Andersoni and variabilis), Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Ixodes scapularis, Haemaphysalis longicornis

30
Q

what tick is the agent of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and where is it located

A

Dermacentor andersoni; western North America

31
Q

what is the American Dog Tick and where is it located?

A

Dermacentor variabilis; in North America east of the Rockies

32
Q

How do you ID Dermacentor spp.

  • scutum
  • palps
  • basis capitulum
A
  • ornate scutum
  • palps short
  • basis capitulum parallel
33
Q

What type of life cycle and hosts do Dermacentor ticks have

A

3 host; larvae and nymph on small mammals and adults on dogs and other larger mammals

34
Q

what is the Brown Dog Tick

A

Rhipicephalus sanguineus

35
Q

where would you find adult Rhipicephalus sanguineus? What about larvae and nymph

A

adults in between toes; larvae and nymph on the back of the neck

36
Q

How do you ID Rhipicephalus sanguineus.

  • scutum
  • palps
  • basis capitulum
A
  • inornate scutum (brown)
  • short palps
  • angular basis capitulum
37
Q

What type of life cycle and host does Rhipicephalus sanguineus have

A

3 host tick; all stages feed on dogs

SHORT life cycle (2 months to adult)

38
Q

What type of life cycle and host does Ixodes scapularis have?

A

3 host tick; larvae and nymph on mice; adults on deer; all stages will attach to accidental mammalian hosts

LONG life cycle

39
Q

How do you ID Ixodes scapularis.

  • scutum
  • palps
  • basis capitulum
A
  • inornate scutum
  • long palps
  • parallel basis capitulum
40
Q

what is the name of the Longhorned tick

A

Haemaphysalis longicornis

41
Q

What is the life cycle and type of hosts of Haemaphysalis longicornis

A

3 host tick; larvae and nymph on small mammals; all stages will attach to other mammals; SHORT life cycle

42
Q

How do you ID Haemaphysalis longicornis.

  • scutum
  • palps
  • basis capitulum
A
  • inornate scutum
  • short palps
  • basis capitulum parallel
43
Q

What is an important and unique part of Haemaphysalis longicornis life cycle

A

parthenogenetic reproduction

44
Q

What ticks can feed on humans

A

Ixodes and Haemaphysalis

45
Q

What are some problems with ticks

A
  • worry and blood loss
  • rubbing and hair loss
  • tick paralysis or toxicosis
  • biological agents of disease