| Title: | Field and laboratory responses of adult Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) to kairomones produced by white-tailed deer |
| Author(s): | Carroll JF; Mills GD; Schmidtmann ET; |
| Address: | "Parasite Biology and Epidemiology Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0022-2585 (Print) 0022-2585 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "In a field test, adult blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, of both sexes exhibited an arrestant response to substances associated with external glands on the legs of white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann), their principal host. Substances rubbed from the pelage covering tarsal and interdigital glands were applied to artificial vantage points simulating vegetation on which I. scapularis adults wait for host contact. A combination of tarsal substances (applied to the apex of the simulated vantage point) and interdigital gland substances (applied to the horizontal base) elicited a greater response than either treatment alone. A minimal response was observed on untreated vantage points. In laboratory bioassays using glass tubing as vantage points, substances associated with preorbital glands of deer elicited a strong arrestant response among I. scapularis females, whereas samples rubbed from the forehead, back, and a nonglandular area on deer tarsi evoked weak arrestant responses. These results support the hypothesis that the kairomonal properties of host-generated residues, either in conjunction with or in lieu of the effects of carbon dioxide, help account for the prevalence of host-seeking ticks along animal trails" |
| Keywords: | Animals Deer/*parasitology/physiology Exocrine Glands/metabolism Feeding Behavior Female Ixodes/*physiology Male Pheromones/metabolism/*physiology; |
| Notes: | "MedlineCarroll, J F Mills, G D Jr Schmidtmann, E T eng England 1996/07/01 J Med Entomol. 1996 Jul; 33(4):640-4. doi: 10.1093/jmedent/33.4.640" |
