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Impact of humidity on clustered tick eggs

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Abstract

Eclosion of larvae from clustered tick eggs (1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, and ±1,000 eggs) of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Rs), Rhipicephalus microplus (Rm), Amblyomma cajennense (Ac), and Dermacentor nitens (Dn) was investigated at 43, 75, and > 98 % relative humidity (RH) and 25 °C. Susceptibility of eggs to dehydration varied among tick species (Rs < Rm < Ac and Dn) and the number of clustered eggs but even singularized eggs of all tested species matured, and larvae eclosed at RH > 98 %. A minimum of 25 clustered eggs and relative humidity close to saturation is suggested for quantitative tests on ovicidal activity of acaricides for related tick species.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil) for financial support, Center of Control of Zoonosis (CCZ) in Goiânia (Goiás, Brazil) for providing material, and Richard A Humber (USDA-ARS, Ithaca, NY, USA) for the critical review of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DMIPP, Instituto de Patologia Tropical e Saúde Pública, Universidade Federal de Goiás, CP 131, Goiânia, GO, 74001-970, Brazil

    Walmirton B. D’Alessandro, Juscelino Rodrigues, Éverton K. K. Fernandes & Christian Luz

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  1. Walmirton B. D’Alessandro
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  2. Juscelino Rodrigues
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  3. Éverton K. K. Fernandes
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  4. Christian Luz
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Correspondence to Christian Luz.

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D’Alessandro, W.B., Rodrigues, J., Fernandes, É.K.K. et al. Impact of humidity on clustered tick eggs. Parasitol Res 113, 3899–3902 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4128-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4128-x

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