Class Acarina: Ticks Flashcards
What is an infestation of mites and ticks called?
Acariasis
What are the characteristics of mites and ticks?
Blood-sucking arachnids
Dorsoventrally flattened
Head
Scutum
What is the head of the tick called?
Capitulum
It serves as an organ of cutting and attachment
What is the scutum?
Hard chitinous plate
Covers all the male’s back
Covers 1/3 of the female’s back
What does the scutum on the female have the ability to do?
Expand when she feeds
What is the life cycle of the tick?
Egg
6-legged larva
8-legged nymph
8-legged ault
What feeds on the dog and then drops into the environment and molts into the nymph?
The larva
What quests for another dog?
The nymph
What happens when the nymph feeds on another dog?
It drops into the environment to become adult
What does the adult tick then do?
It quests to find a new host
What does the female do after mating with the male?
It drops off the host to lay egss and die
How many hosts do most species of ticks have?
3 different hosts
How much of the life cycle do ticks spend in the environment?
95%
Waiting for another host
How long can the life cycle of ticks take?
6 weeks in ideal conditions (Hawaii) or up to 3 years
What are the two families of ticks?
Ixodid Ticks –> Hard ticks
Argasid Ticks –> Soft ticks
What are the characteristics of hard ticks?
Scutum
Capitulum and mouthparts visible from above
What are the characteristics of soft ticks?
Lack a scutum
Capitulum and mouthparts are not visible from above
Soft Ticks: Otobius megnini
Spinose ear tick
Found in Hawaii
What are the characteristics of Otobius megnini?
Housed on livestock, dogs, and people
Live in the external ear canal
Produce waxy exudate
What life cycle stages of the Otobius megnini are parasitic?
Larval
Two of the nymphal stages
What are hard ticks important vectors of?
Protozoal, bacterial, viral, and rickettsial diseases
What is toxic in some species of ticks?
The saliva of female ticks
Causes ascending paralysis in animals and humans
Ixodes scapularis
Deer ticks
Rhipicephalus sanguineus
Brown dog tick
Dermacentor variabilis
American dog tick
Amblyomma americanum
Lone star tick
Amblyomma maculatum
Gulf Coast tick
What is the host of Ixodes scapularis?
Larval and nymph stages = mice and voles
Adult stages = horses, dogs, deer, humans
In what region is Ixodes scapularis found?
East coast to Ohio
What rickettsial bacteria causes Lyme Disease?
Borrelia burgdorferi
What other diseases do Ixodes scapularis carry?
Tularemia
Babesia microti
Granulocytic ehrlichiosis
What is the host of Rhipicephalus Sanguines tick?
Dog
In what region is Rhipicephalus Sanguineus found?
All of North America including Hawaii
What tick can complete its lifecycle indoors?
Rhipicephalus Sanguineus
What can heavy infestations of Rhipicephalus sanguines cause
Severe anemia
Only the female takes a blood meal
What is Rhipicephalus sanguines an intermediate host for?
Babesia canis
Ehrlicia canis
Anaplasma platys
What happens as the Rhipicephalus sanguines tick sucks blood from the dog?
It regurgitates the salivary contents
It transmits diseases this way
It can happen in any life cycle stage of the tick
How many eggs does the female tick lay?
3000-5000 eggs
How long does it take for the eggs to develop into the larva
One week in the environment
What is much harder to control than fleas?
Ticks
What are examples of topical tick preventative for dogs?
Collars
Amitraz dips
What are examples of topical tick preventatives for dogs?
Certifect
K9 Advantix II
What areas should a professional exterminator focus on when taking care of ticks in the environment?
Shady, grassy areas
