Experimental and Applied Acarology (2012) 57, 171-178

Alessio Giannelli, Filipe Dantas-Torres and Domenico Otranto (2012)
Underwater survival of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae)
Experimental and Applied Acarology 57 (2), 171-178
Abstract: Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) is a worldwide distributed tick, also due to its adaptability to different environmental conditions. In order to assess its ability to survive and to lay eggs after water immersion, 150 engorged females from southern Italy were water immersed for 1-15 days whereas eggs were flooded for 1-5 days. All females survived water immersion for 48 h, some of them up to 72 h, but egg hatch rate was negatively correlated with female submersion period. All eggs flooded for up to 120 h hatched successfully. These findings suggest that R. sanguineus is able to survive underwater for some days without loosing any biological activity. This feature should be considered in relation to its potential to spread to new areas and to its role as a vector of pathogens also in consideration of changes in climate the Earth is currently experiencing.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Alessio Giannelli, Filipe Dantas-Torres, Domenico Otranto

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Rhipicephalus sanguineus		Italy