Class Acarina: Ticks

Question 1

What is an infestation of mites and ticks called?

Answer 1

Acariasis

Question 2

What are the characteristics of mites and ticks?

Answer 2

Blood-sucking arachnids
Dorsoventrally flattened
Head
Scutum

Question 3

What is the head of the tick called?

Answer 3

Capitulum

It serves as an organ of cutting and attachment

Question 4

What is the scutum?

Answer 4

Hard chitinous plate
Covers all the male’s back
Covers 1/3 of the female’s back

Question 5

What does the scutum on the female have the ability to do?

Answer 5

Expand when she feeds

Question 6

What is the life cycle of the tick?

Answer 6

Egg
6-legged larva
8-legged nymph
8-legged ault

Question 7

What feeds on the dog and then drops into the environment and molts into the nymph?

Answer 7

The larva

Question 8

What quests for another dog?

Answer 8

The nymph

Question 9

What happens when the nymph feeds on another dog?

Answer 9

It drops into the environment to become adult

Question 10

What does the adult tick then do?

Answer 10

It quests to find a new host

Question 11

What does the female do after mating with the male?

Answer 11

It drops off the host to lay egss and die

Question 12

How many hosts do most species of ticks have?

Answer 12

3 different hosts

Question 13

How much of the life cycle do ticks spend in the environment?

Answer 13

95%

Waiting for another host

Question 14

How long can the life cycle of ticks take?

Answer 14

6 weeks in ideal conditions (Hawaii) or up to 3 years

Question 15

What are the two families of ticks?

Answer 15

Ixodid Ticks –> Hard ticks

Argasid Ticks –> Soft ticks

Question 16

What are the characteristics of hard ticks?

Answer 16

Scutum

Capitulum and mouthparts visible from above

Question 17

What are the characteristics of soft ticks?

Answer 17

Lack a scutum

Capitulum and mouthparts are not visible from above

Question 18

Soft Ticks: Otobius megnini

Answer 18

Spinose ear tick

Found in Hawaii

Question 19

What are the characteristics of Otobius megnini?

Answer 19

Housed on livestock, dogs, and people
Live in the external ear canal
Produce waxy exudate

Question 20

What life cycle stages of the Otobius megnini are parasitic?

Answer 20

Larval

Two of the nymphal stages

Question 21

What are hard ticks important vectors of?

Answer 21

Protozoal, bacterial, viral, and rickettsial diseases

Question 22

What is toxic in some species of ticks?

Answer 22

The saliva of female ticks

Causes ascending paralysis in animals and humans

Question 23

Ixodes scapularis

Answer 23

Deer ticks

Question 24

Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Answer 24

Brown dog tick

Question 25

Dermacentor variabilis

Answer 25

American dog tick

Question 26

Amblyomma americanum

Answer 26

Lone star tick

Question 27

Amblyomma maculatum

Answer 27

Gulf Coast tick

Question 28

What is the host of Ixodes scapularis?

Answer 28

Larval and nymph stages = mice and voles | Adult stages = horses, dogs, deer, humans

Question 29

In what region is Ixodes scapularis found?

Answer 29

East coast to Ohio

Question 30

What rickettsial bacteria causes Lyme Disease?

Answer 30

Borrelia burgdorferi

Question 31

What other diseases do Ixodes scapularis carry?

Answer 31

Tularemia Babesia microti Granulocytic ehrlichiosis

Question 32

What is the host of Rhipicephalus Sanguines tick?

Answer 32

Dog

Question 33

In what region is Rhipicephalus Sanguineus found?

Answer 33

All of North America including Hawaii

Question 34

What tick can complete its lifecycle indoors?

Answer 34

Rhipicephalus Sanguineus

Question 35

What can heavy infestations of Rhipicephalus sanguines cause

Answer 35

Severe anemia | Only the female takes a blood meal

Question 36

What is Rhipicephalus sanguines an intermediate host for?

Answer 36

Babesia canis Ehrlicia canis Anaplasma platys

Question 37

What happens as the Rhipicephalus sanguines tick sucks blood from the dog?

Answer 37

It regurgitates the salivary contents It transmits diseases this way It can happen in any life cycle stage of the tick

Question 38

How many eggs does the female tick lay?

Answer 38

3000-5000 eggs

Question 39

How long does it take for the eggs to develop into the larva

Answer 39

One week in the environment

Question 40

What is much harder to control than fleas?

Answer 40

Ticks

Question 41

What are examples of topical tick preventative for dogs?

Answer 41

Collars | Amitraz dips

Question 42

What are examples of topical tick preventatives for dogs?

Answer 42

Certifect | K9 Advantix II

Question 43

What areas should a professional exterminator focus on when taking care of ticks in the environment?

Answer 43

Shady, grassy areas