LECTURE TWO

Ticks and mites cont.…

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Life cycle (hard ticks)
 One host tick

 Two host ticks

 Three host ticks

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MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF HARD TICKS
Dorsal surface and ventral surface of the
Amblyomma americanum tick in the male
stage.
Head
1 - Basis of capituli rectangular
2 - Long palps (longer than the basis capituli)
Abdomen
3 - Complete shield, ornate with a few clear
spots on the periphery
4 - Presence of eyes
5 - Presence of genital pore
6 - Anal groove below the anus
7 - Presence of festoons (band of grooves and
ridges on posterior margin of abdomen)

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 MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF HARD TICKS
• Morphological features (identification keys) for hard ticks
Dorsal surface and ventral surface of the Amblyomma
americanum tick in the female stage.
Head
1 - Basis capituli rectangular
2 - Long palps (palps are longer than the basis capituli)
Abdomen
3 - Partial shield scutum, ornate with a whitish spot on its
posterior end
4 - Presence of eyes
5 - Presence of genital pore
6 - Anal groove below the anus
7 - Presence of festoons (band of grooves and ridges on posterior
margin of abdomen)

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In summary the most prominent features that you must focus on when
deciding to which genus a particular specimen of a tick belongs to are:
1. Length of mouthparts
2. Eyes or eyeless
3. Conscutum ornate or inornate
4. Colour of legs
5. Festoons or no festoons
6. Anal plates or no anal plates

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CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT GENERA OF
HARD TICKS INFESTING DOMESTIC ANIMALS
• Genus: Amblyomma

• Common name:
• tropical bont tick
• Distribution
• commonest and widely distributed ticks of livestock in Africa
• Species
• A. variegatum, A. hebraeum, A. maculatum, ovale
• Life cycle
• three host tick
• Hosts:
• All stages infest ruminats (cattle, sheep and goats). Buffaloes and large habivores are also hosts.
Nymphs occasionally feed on birds.

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• Site of attachment
• dewlap, sternum, flank, around genitalia and udders

• Medical and veterinary importance

• transmits the bacterium Ehrlichia ruminantium (= Cowdria ruminantium) which causes
heartwater in cattle, sheep and goats
• Theileria mutans causing benign bovine theileriosis

• Heavy infestations suppress the immunity of cattle, making worse the bacterial skin disease
dermatophilosis

• Heavy infestations also damage teats and reduce productivity

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• Identification features:
• Size of unfed ticks is large (6 to 7mm)
• Mouthparts very long
• Eyes are present at margins of scutum
• Hypostome and chelicerae longer than basis
capituli
• Scutum usually ornate having coloured pattern
• Festoon present
• Adanal plates on males absent or when present
very small
• Legs usually have pale rings (banded legs)

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• Genus: DERMACENTOR
• Common name: ornate sheep tick
• Species: D. marginatus, D. albicitus, D. andersoni, D. rhinocerinus
• Life cycle:
• This is a three-host tick and the entire life cycle can be completed in one year
• Hosts: In Africa adults infest cattle, sheep and goats.
Dogs may be infested with adults and humans are liable to infestation with
immature stages. .
Immature stages feed mostly on rabbits and other small mammals and also birds.
DIsease transmitted:
D. marginatus can transmit the protozoan Babesia canis to dogs causing canine babesiosis
and the bacterium Rickettsia conorii to humans causing tick typhus or boutonneuse fever

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• Identification keys
• Size of unfed ticks is medium (4 to
5mm
• Basis capituli has straight lateral
margins and dorsally it is
rectangular
• Basis capituli has straight lateral
margins and dorsally it is
rectangular
• Enamel (= ornamentation) is
present on scutum
• Eyes are present and usually flat to
slightly conve
• Festoons are present in males
• Ventral plates are absent from
males.
• Coxae 4 are very large
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Genus: HAEMAPHYSALIS
• Common name: yellow dog tick or red sheep tick
• species: H. longicornis, H. bispinosa, H. leachi; H. punctate
• Life cycle: three-host tick.
• Hosts: Domestic dogs and wild carnivores, such as the larger cats,
foxes, jackals and wild dogs
• Disease transmitted: Haemaphysalis leachi transmits the protozoan
Babesia canis to dogs, causing canine babesiosis; It also
transmits the bacterium Rickettsia conorii to humans, causing
tick typhus.

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• Identification keys
• Size of unfed ticks is small (3mm)
• Palp articles 2 are usually broad
• Basis capituli has straight lateral margins
• Legs have no pale rings.
• Ornamentation) is absent from the scutum and conscutum.
• Eyes are always absent.
• Festoons are present
• Ventral plates are absent from males

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Genus: RHIPICEPHALUS (BOOPHILUS)
• Common name: : Rh. (Bo.) decoloratus = the blue tick, Rh.(B.)
microplus = the cattle tick

• Species: Rh. (Bo.) decoloratus, Rh. (Bo.) annulatus, Rh. (Bo.)

microplus

• Life cycle: one-host tick with a monotropic type of behaviour

• Hosts: Cattle (maintance host to other ruminats and wide

ungulates)

• Site of attachment: back, upper legs, neck, shoulders, dewlap and

belly.

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• Disease transmitted:
• transmits the protozoan Babesia bigemina, causing bovine
babesiosis (= redwater) in cattle

• Anaplasma marginale, the cause of bovine anaplasmosis (= gallsickness),

Borrelia theileri, the cause of spirochaetosis in ruminants and horses.

• Heavy infestations are likely to cause damage to hides and to reduce the rate
of growth of cattle

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 IDENTIFICATION KEYS FOR RHIPICEPHALUS (BOOPHILUS)

 Mouthparts very short

 proximal margins of palpal segments II and III sclerotized and
have the appearance of two protruding rings
 Conscutum often so poorly sclerotized that the dark pattern
of the caeca can be seen from above
 Eyes present but not conspicuous
 No festoons
 Adanal plates and accessory adanal plates of males well
developed
 Caudal process may be present in males
• One-host ticks

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Genus:Hyalomma
• Common name: bont-legged tick

• Species: Hy. anatolicum, Hy. Dromedarii, Hy. Marginatum

• Life cycle: a two-host life cycle

• Hosts: Adults infest cattle and other ungulates (horses, sheep, goats, camels).
The immature stages feed on small mammals such as hares and rabbits;

• Disease transmitted: transmits the protozoan Babesia caballi causing babesiosis

in horses, transmit Theileria annulata under laboratory conditions.

• It is also responsible for the transmission to humans of the virus causing

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever and may be the main vector of this virus in
Europe.
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Identification keys for Hyalomma spp.
Mouthparts long, second segment
of palps elongate
 Scutum pale to dark brown
 Eyes present and convex
 Festoons present
 Adanal, sub-anal, and accessory
anal plates present on males
 Coxae of first pair of legs with long,
prominent posteriorly directed spurs
 Banded legs

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Genus Rhipicephalus spp.
• Common names: Rh. appendiculatus is also known as the brown ear
tick because of its colour and preference for feeding on the ears of
cattle, Rh. Sanguineus is known as brown dog tick
• Species: Rh. appendiculatus, Rh. sanguineus, Rh. Turanicus
• life cycle: is a three-host tick.
• Hosts: for Rh. Appendiculatus, (Cattle, goats, buffaloes, elands,
waterbucks, nyalas, greater kudus and sable antelopes are the main
hosts. Dogs and sheep are also infested) while for Rh. sanguineus, Rh.
Turanicus,canidae is the preferred host

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• Diseases transmitted: Rhipicephalus appendiculatus transmits the
protozoan Theileria parva, the cause of East Coast fever in cattle,
Bacteria transmitted are Anaplasma bovis (=Ehrlichia bovis) causing
bovine ehrlichiosis, and Rickettsia conorii causing tick typhus in
humans. Rh. sanguineus transmits several protozoan pathogens;
Babesia canis causing canine babesiosis, Hepatozoon canis
(hepatozoonosis), Erhlichia canis

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Identification keys for Rhipicephalus spp
Mouthparts short to medium length.
 Basis capituli generally hexagonal in shape.
 Scutum usually uniformly brown, but four
species have ivory-coloured ornamentation.
 Eyes present.
 Festoons present.
 Adanal plates, and usually also accessory
adanal plates, present on males.
 Coxae of first pair of legs with long,
prominent posteriorly directed spurs.
 Majority are three-host ticks, but a few
species require only two hosts. 20
Genus: IXODES
• Common name: known as the sourveld tick/ sheep tick
• Species: Ixodes ricinus, Ix. pilosus
• Hosts: Cattle, sheep, goats, dogs and wild ungulates are infested with
this tick. On both cattle and sheep it prefers to feed on the ears, eyes
and neck.
• Life cycle: This is a three-host tick
• Disease transmitted:In North Africa Ix. ricinus is a vector mainly of
the bacteria Borrelia and of Babesia divergens causing bovine
babesiosis

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IDENTIFICATION KEYS
• Mouthparts long.
• Auriculae latero-ventrally on basis capituli
• No eyes
• No festoons
• No adanal plates on males
• Anal groove conspicuous and anterior to
the anus
• Legs appear to be grouped anteriorly
• Three-host ticks

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