Preferential attachment sites of the tick Amblyomma variegarum, on its hosts in Guadeloupe (French West Indies)

Abstract

The examination of 458 domestic and wild hosts of the tick A. variegatum allowed to collect 8 581 larvae, 646 nymphs, 685 adults in 9 different animal species and to determine their preferential attachment sites. In another survey on 15 goats and 5 cattle, 12 345 larvae, 2 111 nymphs and 4 625 adults were counted on the anatomic sites. Immature ticks feed preferentially on the head, neck and limbs of birds, the limbs of mongoose and the limbs and ears of dogs, goats and cattle. Adults feed only on hosts of medium to large size and attach on ventral parts of the body, especially the groin, perineum, axillae and the dewlap of cattle. This tick species should be searched for on these sites when estimating its propagation in a threatened area or the evolution of its population during an eradication campaign. Moreover, the acaricide concentration on these sites must be optimal during systematic treatments.