Systematic and Applied Acarology (2015) 20, 20-24

José Santos Portugal III and Jerome Goddard (2015)
Collections of immature Amblyomma maculatum Koch (Acari: Ixodidae) from Mississippi, U.S.A.
Systematic and Applied Acarology 20 (1), 20-24
Abstract: Immatures of Amblyomma maculatum have historically been difficult to collect when not on an animal host, thus a definite seasonality of the immatures has never been determined. In this study, we made tick collections at two sites during 2012–2014. Site A (Oktibbeha County) in northern Mississippi, and Site B (Jackson County) in southern Mississippi, were sampled from September-May and October-May, respectively. Sampling was made from vegetation with a 1 m² weighted white corduroy drag cloth, dry ice traps, and also a novel method known as "swabbing." A total of 157 ticks was collected, with 42% (n=65) being A. maculatum. Of these 65, only 20% (n=13) were immatures, with 18.5% (n=12) being nymphs, and a larva (1.5%) (collected by swabbing). To our knowledge, this is only the third time that a larva of this species have been collected from vegetation in the United States. The larva is the first collected from Mississippi in November, and expands the known seasonality of this stage. Of the twelve nymphs collected, one was found during May, becoming the first collected south of U.S. Route 84 in Mississippi during this month.
(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): Jerome Goddard

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Amblyomma maculatum		U.S.A. (mid S)