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Detachment of hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from hunted sika deer (Cervus nippon)

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Abstract

Ixodid ticks were collected from 13 sika deer, Cervus n. nippon, shot in the Boso Peninsula in central Japan from late February to early March 1999. Haemaphysalis megaspinosa was the most abundant species of the adults collected, although Haemaphysalis longicornis, H. flava, H. kitaokai, H. cornigera, Ixodes ovatus, and Amblyomma testudinarium were also collected. Males were more abundant than females for H. longicornis, H. megaspinosa, H. flava, and H. kitaokai. Ticks that had inserted their hypostome into its host skin (designated attached) were distinguished from those that were detached and on the host’s surface. A greater fraction of males than females of all four species were detached. Females were classified in three feeding stages (engorged, partially engorged, and unfed). More H. longicornis and H. megaspinosa unfed female ticks than engorged and partially-engorged female ticks were collected detached. Our results indicated that H. megaspinosa, H. longicornis, H. flava, and H. kitaokai male ticks detached sooner than female ticks after their host died.

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Acknowledgments

I thank the Chiba Hunting Federation, particularly gamekeepers and hunters, Nature Conservation Division of Environmental and Community Affairs Department in Chiba Prefecture, K. Ochiai, and Y. Kaneshiro for their collaboration in the collection of samples. I appreciate M. Kawashima, D. Hirano, T. Shintaku, M. Oizumi, R. Fukuda, T. Ito, T. Torii, H. Takahashi, N. Haruyama, and M. Miyamoto for their help in collecting ticks from deer. I would like to acknowledge H. Amano for his valuable support for collection of ticks.

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  1. Takashi Tsunoda

    Present address: Department of Vector Ecology and Environment, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Applied Entomology and Zoology, Faculty of Horticulture, Chiba University, 648 Matsudo, Chiba, 271-8510, Japan

    Takashi Tsunoda

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  1. Takashi Tsunoda
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Correspondence to Takashi Tsunoda.

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Tsunoda, T. Detachment of hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from hunted sika deer (Cervus nippon). Exp Appl Acarol 63, 545–550 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-014-9795-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-014-9795-x

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