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20 April 2020 Laboratory Studies of Questing Behavior in Colonized Nymphal Amblyomma maculatum Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)
José Santos Portugal III, Robert Wills, Jerome Goddard
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Abstract

Environmental factors affect host-seeking behavior in ticks. In this study, 80 nymphal Amblyomma maculatum Koch were released in an observation arena containing four different heights of broomsedge stems (Andropogon virginicus L.) anchored in sand. Observations were made over three days as to proportion of ticks questing, questing height, and stem height distribution This scenario was replicated three times with different cohorts of ticks (n = 80 per replicate) for each of three treatment combinations of temperature and humidity: High temperature/high humidity (HTHH), high temperature/low humidity (HTLH), and low temperature/high humidity (LTHH). A fourth treatment utilizing the same size cohort and number of replicates included Wind (HTHHW+/–) by alternating days of wind and no-wind conditions over four days. Mean questing height for ticks under HTHH, HTLH, and LTHH conditions ranged from 4.45 to 6.03 cm with ticks questing significantly higher in HTHH. A significantly lower proportion ticks quested in HTLH (8.64%) than HTHH (14.06%) and LTHH (15.33%). In HTHH and LTHH, a significantly higher proportion of ticks were observed questing on 5-cm stems. Wind significantly reduced average questing height, and when absent, ticks on 20- and 30-cm stems quested significantly higher. These data indicate that A. macuatum nymphs randomly select stems to quest upon and climb upward until environmental conditions are prohibitive/ideal. Conditions with reduced vapor pressure deficit (VPD) led to higher questing frequency and height. Relatively low questing heights observed correspond with size of preferred hosts and may explain infrequency of collection by dragcloth in the field.

© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
José Santos Portugal III, Robert Wills, and Jerome Goddard "Laboratory Studies of Questing Behavior in Colonized Nymphal Amblyomma maculatum Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)," Journal of Medical Entomology 57(5), 1480-1487, (20 April 2020). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa077
Received: 24 September 2019; Published: 20 April 2020
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KEYWORDS
behavior
Gulf Coast tick
host-seeking
nymph
questing
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