Review of Dermacentor Andersoni

(Tickencounter Resource Center 2019)

Dermacentor andersoni, a hard tick from the family Ixodidae, commonly known as the Rocky
Mountain Wood Tick (RMWT), is an obligate blood-feeder and a competent vector of numerous
human and animal diseases. The RMWT is capable of inducing tick paralysis and has this ability
to transmit Colorado tick fever virus, Powassan virus, Anaplasma marginale, and the causative
agents of tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Q fever. (Bopanna, et al. 2009).
Although this tick’s preferred hosts are large ungulate mammals such as deer, elk and moose
(Eisen, et al. 2008), humans are incidental hosts of many Dermacentor spp. ticks. The life
cycles, feeding and mating habits, and geographical range of Dermacentor andersoni is
important to study as this tick poses a great threat to humans who come in contact with it.

The ecological distribution of

the tick species Dermacentor
andersoni extends from the
eastern side of the Rocky
Mountains, to the western
Sierra Nevada and Cascade
Mountain ranges. The areas
of the United States which
are commonly infested with
this tick species is depicted in
the map to the left (CDC
2019). Few studies since the
1950s have been conducted
to definitively establish a
northern border for the geographic distribution of the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick. Tick-borne
tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever show such few cases in Canada that RMWT has not
been considered a significant enough health risk to actively monitor (Dergousoff, et al. 2013).
Upon recent investigation using a flagging technique in the Canadian prairies of Saskatchewan,
researchers found that the current distribution of D. andersoni remains fairly consistent with
reports from as early as 1932 (Dergousoff, et al. 2013). No significant findings were made
above the previously reported latitude; the geographic distribution may have even constricted
near northern limits (Dergousoff, et al. 2013). Ultimately, the relative geographic range of D.
andersoni across western North America has remained stable over the course of the past century
as they specifically desire areas with hot, dry summers and sufficient host availability (Eisen, et
al. 2017, Dergousoff, et al. 2013).

Adult ticks are primarily active during the spring and early summer periods. Engorged females
lay their eggs in the summer, and the tick larvae emerge in the late summer or fall. The larvae
feed on a blood meal before molting into a nymph. The nymph then feeds on another blood meal
before molting into an adult. The life cycle of D. andersoni typically lasts between one to three
years (Eisen, et al. 2007). This timeframe is
varied based on the environmental temperature,
humidity, and availability of the host. The
anatomy of the tick is very useful in helping it
search for a blood meal. At the end of each of
the tick’s front legs is an olfactory organ called
Haller’s organ that is used to detect exhaled
CO2, ammonia, and temperature change (Eisen,
et al. 2007). During a behavior of ticks called
“questing”, as seen to the right, the tick will
climb on top of vegetation and raise the front
legs with the Haller’s organ in order to find and
latch onto its host (Eisen, et al. 2007).

Questing causes this tick to prefer habitats of

high grass and shrubs such as big sagebrush
which yields a higher likelihood of obtaining a
host. In fact, big sagebrush is a hallmark
indicator of an area being at high risk of D.
andersoni exposure (Eisen, et al. 2008).
However, researchers also found microhabitats
of open grass and other areas of distinctly
different vegetation that contained significant populations of the RMWT (Eisen et al. 2008). In
such areas, researchers associated a higher abundance of elk droppings with the increase in D.
andersoni ticks, indicating small migrations to different microhabitats to obtain a host (Eisen et
al. 2008). Other common RMWT hosts such as deer and bighorn sheep feed preferentially on
grass as opposed to shrub, increasing the use of such vegetation as a questing medium.
Feeding habits and preferences of D. andersoni vary with the life stage, time of year, climate
conditions, and host conditions. This Rocky Mountain Wood Tick is typically only inactive
during the months of December and January since ground temperatures remain far too low for
host-seeking. Adult D. andersoni ticks will begin their active search for a host in as early as
mid-February, when snow has melted away and soil temperatures begin to rise above 5 degrees
Celsius (Lysyk and T.J. 2008). Fittingly, adults will display peak activity between the months of
April and June when host availability, temperature, and humidity are most appropriate. Nymphs
and larvae, however, display a slightly shorter window of activity between March and October
with peak questing activity in May and June (Eisen, et al. 2017). These time periods are not
finite, as host-seeking activity can also be interrupted by unforeseen cold fronts and snowfall
(Lysyk and T. J. 2008).

Many Dermacentor spp. ticks tend to feed on small mammals like rodents as larvae and nymphs,
then take on much larger hosts, both domestic and wild, such as cattle, deer, or elk upon reaching
adulthood (Eisen, et al. R.J. 2017). Host availability to due to climate plays a role in tick
feeding, but the conditions on the host animal itself also plays a role in the success of the feeding
processes. One study found that there is positive relationship between the host skin temperature
and the amount of unengorged ticks present on the host (Lysyk and T.J. 2008). The feeding and
engorgement processes of D. andersoni ticks were directly affected by host skin temperature,
showing a reduction in time to engorgement as the host skin temperature increased (Lysyk and
T.J. 2008).

Furthermore, the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick displays a very unique blood-feeding mechanism
in which its salivary components counteract host defense mechanisms to enable successful
blood-feeding and pathogen transmission (Bopanna, et al. 2009, Heinze, et al. 2014). These
mechanisms mask the presence of both the potential pathogen and the tick itself, increasing the
likelihood of survival and proliferation. Dermacentor andersoni ticks may remain latched to
their hosts anywhere from a few days to more than two weeks and must remain masked during
such a sustained and intimate interaction with its host. This is accomplished by a continuous
release of saliva into the wound containing “biologically active molecules that modulate host
hemostasis, pain/itch responses, wound healing, tissue remodeling, and immunity” (Bopanna, et
al. 2009). Additionally, the RMWT releases multiple waves of cement throughout the feeding
cycle which enables it to continuously anchor itself to the host (Heinze, et al. 2014).

Feeding also plays a vital role in the mating process of D. andersoni males and females. A
livestock insect laboratory in British Columbia found that both sexes require a minimum feeding
period to be able to produce fertile, viable offspring (Gregson 1969). This finding was supported
by evidence that males which mated with a female after feeding for less than six days produced
sterile eggs, and females, upon exposure to well fed males displayed rapid feeding (Gregson
1969). Ultimately, male D. andersoni ticks require, “at least six days [of feeding] before
copulation and subsequent acceleration in feeding [by females] can take place” (Gregson 1969).

In addition to the feeding requirements for copulation, feeding is also influenced by the release
of fatty acid-rich sex pheromones displayed by many ixodid ticks. Rocky Mountain Wood Ticks
respond particularly strongly to palmitic acid from the vaginal lumen and the external gonopore
area (Allan 1988). More recently, researchers found that 2,6-dicholorophenol is released by
females during feeding for identification as a potential mate; once a sufficient blood meal is
consumed, a release of cholesteryl oleate signals readiness to mate (Munyarubuga 2019). Due to
specific environmental standards of D. andersoni, these ticks only experience, “a single breeding
season in late spring with adults dying shortly after copulation” (Munyarubuga 2019).

Dermacentor andersoni, otherwise known as the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick, poses a
significant threat to humans and public health for many reasons. Their preferred mating and
associated feeding seasons coincide greatly with outdoor recreation in the geographically
susceptible regions. These ticks are also capable of horizontal disease transmission at all points
in their life cycle. As adults, they parasitize large mammals, even domestic farm animals which
often come in contact with humans, incidental hosts. Understanding the life cycle, preferred
habitats, feeding and mating habits, host susceptibility, and the geographical range of
Dermacentor andersoni will contribute to the safety of the from dangerous, tick-borne diseases.
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Mountain Wood tick) TickEncounter Resource Center > Tick Identification >
Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain Wood tick). 2019. TickEncounter Resource
Center > Tick Identification > Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain Wood tick).
(https://tickencounter.org/tick_identification/rocky_mountain_wood_tick).