Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Look at the World of Ticks

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Progress in Parasitology

Part of the book series: Parasitology Research Monographs ((Parasitology Res. Monogr.,volume 2))

Abstract

Ticks are one of the best known groups of parasites. They have accompanied humans and their domestic animals throughout recorded history (Hoogstraal 1970 and subsequent volumes) and have become a major focus of medical and veterinary research, not only because of their direct pathogenic influence on hosts, such as blood loss and tick-induced paralysis (Gothe 1999; Pfäffle et al. 2009), but more importantly because of their role as vectors of a very wide range of viral, bacterial and protozoan diseases (Nicholson et al. 2009). Indeed, ticks are of considerable economic importance as a constraint to animal production in most of the countries where they occur (Jongejan and Uilenberg 2004). Despite this sinister background, ticks are a fascinating, highly successful group, manifesting a wide variety of adaptations to their hosts and the environments in which they live.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson RM, May RM (1991) Infectious diseases of humans: dynamics and control. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Armed Forces Pest Management Board (2009) Personal protective measures against insects and other arthropods of military significance. Armed Forces Pest Management Board, Technical Guide No. 36

    Google Scholar 

  • Arthur DR (1963) British ticks. Butterworths, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashley JL, Ames HD, Lewis EE, Brewster CC, Huckaba R (2006) Toxicity of three acaricides to Tetranychus urticae (Tetranychidae: Acari) and Orius insidiosus (Anthrocoridae: Hemiptera). J Econ Entomol 99:54–59

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Begon M (2008) Effects of host diversity on disease dynamics. In: Ostfeld RS, Keesing F, Eviner VT (eds) Infectious disease ecology: effects of ecosystems on disease and of disease on ecosystems. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Belozerov VN, Naumov RL (2002) Nymphal diapause and its photoperiodic control in the tick Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae). Folia Parasitol 49:314–318

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll JF, Schmidtmann ET (1996) Dispersal of blacklegged tick (Acari: Ixodidae) nymphs and adults at the woods-pasture interface. J Med Entomol 33:554–558

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chemini C, Rizzoli A (2003) Land use change and biodiversity conservation in the Alps. J Mountain Ecol 7(suppl):1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Dautel H, Dippel C, Oehme R, Hartelt K, Schettler E (2006) Evidence for an increased geographical distribution of Dermacentor reticulatus in Germany and detection of Rickettsia sp. RpA4. Int J Med Microbiol 296:149–156

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dautel H, Kahl O, Knülle W (2009) The soft tick Argas reflexus (F.) (Acari, Argasidae) in urban environments and its medical significance in Berlin (West). J Appl Entomol 111:380–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dumbleton LJ (1961) The ticks (Acarina: Ixodidae) of sea birds in New Zealand waters. NZ J Sci 4:760–769

    Google Scholar 

  • Durden LA, Keirans JE (1996) Host-parasite coextinction and the plight of tick conservation. Am Entomol 42:87–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Peña A (2001) Distribution, abundance, and habitat preferences of Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) in northern Spain. J Med Entomol 38:361–370

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Peña A (2003) The relationships between habitat topology, critical scales of connectivity and tick abundance Ixodes ricinus in a heterogeneous landscape in northern Spain. Ecography 26:661–671

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Peña A (2005) Effects of habitat suitability and landscape patterns on tick (Acarina) metapopulation processes. Landscape Ecol 20:529–541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Pena A, Jongejan F (1999) Ticks feeding on humans: a review of records on human-biting Ixodoidea with special reference to pathogen transmission. Exp Appl Acarol 23:685–715

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Faulde M, Hoffmann G (2001) Vorkommen und Verhütung vektorassoziierter Erkrankungen des Menschen in Deutschland unter Berücksichtigung zoonotischer Aspekte. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitschutz 44:116–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faulde M, Scharninghausen J, Matthias T (2008) Preventive effect of permethrin-impregnated clothing to Ixodes ricinus ticks and associated Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. in Germany. Int J Med Microbiol 298:321–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felz MW, Smith CD, Swift TR (2000) A six-year-old girl with tick paralysis. N Engl J Med 342:90–94

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer U, Siegmund B (2007) Borreliose – Zeckeninfektion mit Tarnkappe, 5th edn. Hirzel-Verlag, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman JL, Dennis DT, Sonenshine DE (eds) (2005) Tick-borne diseases of humans. American Society for Microbiology Press, Washington, p xiii + 401

    Google Scholar 

  • Gothe R (1999) Zeckentoxikosen. Hieronymus, Munich

    Google Scholar 

  • Graf JF, Gogolewski R, Leach-Bing N, Sabatini GA, Molteno MB, Bordin EL, Arantes GJ (2004) Tick control: an industry point of view. Parasitology 129:S427–S442

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gratten-Smith PJ, Jg M, Johnston HM, Yiannikas C, Malik R, Russell R, Ouvrier RA (1997) Clinical and neurophysiological features of tick paralysis. Brain 120:1975–1987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregson JD (1973) Tick paralysis: an appraisal of natural and experimental data. Monograph No. 9, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, 109 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Grimaldi DA, Engel MS, Nascimbene PC (2002) Fossiliferous Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (Burma): its rediscovery, biotic diversity, and paleontological significance. Am Mus Novit 3361:71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guglielmone AA, Estrada-Peña A, Keirans JE, Robbins RG (2003) Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) of the Neotropical zoogeographic region. International consortium on ticks and tick-borne diseases. Atalanta, Houten, p 173

    Google Scholar 

  • Guglielmone AA, Robbins RG, Apanaskevich DA, Petney TN, Estrada-Peña A, Horak IG, Shao RF, Barker SC (2010) The Argasidae, Ixodidae and Nuttalliellidae (Acari: Ixodida) of the world: a list of valid species names. Zootaxa 2528:1–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Halliday RB, Oconnor BM, Baker AS (2000) Global diversity of mites. In: Raven PH, Williams T (eds) Nature and human society: the quest for a sustainable world. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, pp 192–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartelt K, Wurst E, Collatz J, Zimmermann G, Kleespies RG, Oehme RM, Kimmig P, Steidle JL, Mackenstedt U (2008) Biological control of the tick Ixodes ricinus with entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes: preliminary results from laboratory experiments. Int J Med Microbiol 298:314–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoogstraal H (1970) Bibliography of ticks and tick-borne diseases from Homer (about 800 B.C.) to December 1969. NAMRU 3, Al-Ahram Press in Cairo, Egypt

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoogstraal H (1985) Argasid and nuttalliellid ticks as parasites and vectors. Adv Parasitol 24:136–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoogstraal H, Aeschlimann A (1982) Tick-host specificity. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft/Bulletin de la Société Entomologique Suisse 55:5–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones HI, Shellam GR (1999) The occurrence of blood-inhabiting protozoa in captive and free-living penguins. Polar Biol 21:5–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jongejan F, Uilenberg G (2004) The global importance of ticks. Parasitology 129(Suppl):S3–S14

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kahl O (1996) Fatal attraction or how do we get tick bites? Infection 24:394–395

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keesing GF, Brunner J, Duerr S, Killilea M, LoGiudice K, Schmidt K, Vuong H, Ostfeld RS (2009) Hosts as ecological traps for the vector of Lyme disease. Proc R Soc Biol Sci 279:3911–3919

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keirans JE (2009) Order Ixodida. In: Krantz GW, Walter DE (eds) A manual of acarology, 3rd edn. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, pp 111–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Klompen H, Grimaldi D (2001) First Mesozoic record of a parasitiform mite: a larval argasid tick in Cretaceous amber (Acari: Ixodida: Argasidae). Ann Entomol Soc Am 94:10–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindgren E, Tälleklint L, Polfeldt T (2000) Impact of climatic change on the northern latitude limit and population density of the disease-transmitting European tick Ixodes ricinus. Environ Health Perspect 108:119–123

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maes E, Lecomte P, Ray N (1998) A cost-of-illness study of Lyme disease in the United States. Clin Ther 20:993–1008

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Merler S, Furlanello C, Chemini C, Nicolini G (1996) Classification tree methods for analysis of mesoscale distribution of Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) in Trentino, Italian Alps. J Med Entomol 33:888–893

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Müller O, Krawinkel M (2005) Malnutrition and health in developing countries. Can Med Assoc J 173:279–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mwangi EN, Kaaya GP (1997) Prospects of using tick parasitoids (Insecta) for tick management in Africa. Int J Acarol 23:215–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson WL, Sonenshine DE, Lane RS, Uilenberg G (2009) Ticks (Ixodida). In: Mullen GR, Durden LA (eds) Medical and veterinary entomology, 2nd edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 493–542

    Google Scholar 

  • Norval RAI (1977) Studies on the ecology of the tick Amblyomma hebraeum Koch in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. II. Survival and development. J Parasitol 63:740–747

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver JH Jr (1989) Biology and systematics of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). Annu Rev Ecol Syst 20:397–430

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostfeld RS, Jones CG, Wolff JO (1996) Of mice and mast: ecological connections in eastern deciduous forests. Bioscience 46:323–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parola P, Raoult D (2001) Ticks and tick-borne bacterial diseases in humans: an emerging infectious threat. Clin Infect Dis 32:897–928

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Petney TN, Andrews RH, Bull CM (1983) Movement and host finding by unfed nymphs of two Australian reptile ticks. Aust J Zool 31:717–721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfäffle M, Petney T, Elgas M, Skuballa J, Taraschewski H (2009) Tick-induced blood loss leads to regenerative anaemia in the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). Parasitology 136:443–452

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Piesman J, Eisen L (2008) Prevention of tick-borne diseases. Annu Rev Entomol 53:323–343

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poinar GO Jr, Brown A (2003) A new genus of hard ticks from Cretaceous Burmese amber (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae). Syst Parasitol 54:199–205

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Poinar GO Jr, Buckley R (2008) Compluriscutula vetulum (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae), a new genus and species of hard tick from Lower Cretaceous Burmese amber. Proc Entomol Soc Wash 110:445–450

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quercia O, Emiliani F, Foschi FG, Stefanini GF (2005) Anaphylactic shock to Argas reflexus bite. Eur J Allergy Clin Immunol 37:66–68

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Randolph SE (2004) Tick ecology: processes and patterns behind the epidemiological risk posed by ixodid ticks as vector. Parasitology 129:37–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Randolph SE, Green RM, Hoodless AN, Peacey MF (2002) An empirical quantitative framework for the seasonal population dynmaics of the tick Ixodes ricinus. Int J Parasitol 32:979–989

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Samish M, Rehacek J (1999) Pathogens and predators of ticks and their potential in biological control. Annu Rev Entomol 44:159–182

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwantes U, Dautel H, Jung G (2008) Prevention of infectious tick-borne diseases in humans: comparative studies of the repellency of different dodecanoic acid-formulations against Ixodes ricinus ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). Parasit Vectors. doi:10.1186/1756-3305-1-8

  • Schwarz A, Maier WA, Kistemann T, Kampen H (2009) Analysis of the distribution of the tick Ixodes ricinus L. (Acari: Ixodidae) in a nature reserve of western Germany using Geographic Information Systems. Int J Hyg Environ Health 212:87–96

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spiewak R, Lundberg M, Johansson SGO, Buczek A (2006) Allergy to pigeon ticks (Argas reflexus) in Upper Silesia, Poland. Ann Agric Environ Med 13:107–112

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stafford KC, Denicola AJ, Kilpatrick HJ (2003) Reduced abundance of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) and the tick parasitoid Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) with reduction of white-tailed deer. J Med Entomol 40:642–652

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Staub D, Debrunner M, Amsler L, Steffen R (2002) Effectiveness of a repellent containing DEET and EBAAP for preventing tick bites. Wilderness Environ Med 13:12–20

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stjernberg L, Berglund J (2005) Detecting ticks on light versus dark clothing. Scand J Infect Dis 37:361–364

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sreter-Lancz Z, Szell Z, Kovacs G, Egyed L, Marialigeti K, Sreter, T (2006) Rickettsiae of the spotted-fever group in ixodid ticks from Hungary: identification of a new genotype (‘Candidatus Rickettsia kotlanii’). Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 100: 229–236

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone BF, Binnington KC, Gauci M, Aylward JH (1989) Tick/host interactions for Ixodes holocyclus: role, effects, biosynthesis and nature of its toxic and allergic oral secretions. Exp Appl Acarol 7:59–69

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Süss J, Schrader C (2004) Durch Zecken übertragene humanpathogene und bisher als apathogen geltende Mikroorganismen in Europa. Teil 1: Zecken und Viren. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz 47:392–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Süss J, Fingerle V, Hunfeld KP, Schrader C, Wilske B (2004) Durch Zecken übertragene humanpathogene und bisher als apathogen geltende Mikroorganismen in Europa. Teil 2: Bakterien, Parasiten und Mischinfektionen. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz 47:470–486

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Talaska T (2002) Borreliose-Epidemiologie (unter Berücksichtigung des Bundeslandes Brandenburg). Brandenburger Ärzteblatt 11:338–340

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) for the figures used.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Parasitology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kornblumenstrasse 13, D-76131, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Trevor N. Petney

  2. ISD/AFPMB, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20307-5001, USA

    Richard G. Robbins

  3. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, CC 22, CP 2300, Rafaela, Argentina

    Alberto A. Guglielmone

  4. U.S. National Tick Collection, Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, 30460-8056, USA

    Dmitry A. Apanaskevich

  5. Department of Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, Universidad de Zaragoza, Miguel Servet 177, CP 50013, Zaragoza, Spain

    Agustín Estrada-Peña

  6. Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, Pretoria, South Africa

    Ivan G. Horak

  7. Parasitology Section, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Renfu Shao

Authors
  1. Trevor N. Petney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard G. Robbins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alberto A. Guglielmone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dmitry A. Apanaskevich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Agustín Estrada-Peña
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Ivan G. Horak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Renfu Shao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Trevor N. Petney .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoomorphology, Cell Biology and Parasitology,, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, Düsseldorf, 40225, Germany

    Heinz Mehlhorn

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Petney, T.N. et al. (2011). A Look at the World of Ticks. In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Progress in Parasitology. Parasitology Research Monographs, vol 2. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21396-0_15

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation