Arthur Spickett

Agricultural Research Council, South Africa | ARC · Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute

Illustrated descriptions of Cosmiomma hippopotamensis, Dermacentor rhinocerinus, Margaropus winthemi, Rhipicentor bicornis and Rhipicentor nuttalli are provided. Their geographic distributions in Southern Africa are mapped, their hosts listed, and when available, their life cycles, seasonal abundance and role as vectors of disease are included.

Four of the 19 species and one species group in the genus Ixodes that are found in Southern Africa are illustrated and described, their geographic distributions mapped, their hosts listed, and when available, their life cycles, seasonal abundance and role as vectors of disease are provided. The geographic distributions of some the remaining species...

The four species in the genus Hyalomma that are found in Southern African are illustrated and described, their geographic distributions mapped, their hosts listed, and when available, their life cycles, seasonal abundance and role as vectors of disease are provided.

This chapter provides a brief overview of the diseases and toxins transmitted by ticks in Southern Africa, and their modes of transmission

The 32 species and two subspecies of ticks in the genus Rhipicephalus that are found in Southern African are illustrated and described, their geographic distributions mapped, their hosts listed, and when available, their life cycles, seasonal abundance and role as vectors of disease are provided.

The recorded history of tick taxonomy and the contributions that taxonomists have made towards an understanding of the tick fauna of South Africa date back to 1778. The history from then on has been pieced together by Gertrud Theiler in her review on ‘Past workers on ticks and tick-borne diseases in southern Africa’, by Jane Walker in ‘A review of...

The habits of some of the domestic and wild hosts of ixodid ticks in Southern Africa are briefly discussed in relation to their vulnerability to infestation. Extensive host/tick lists including domestic animals, wild mammals, birds and reptiles for South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Maputo Province, Mozambique are provided.

The 12 species in the genus Haemaphysalis that are found in Southern African are illustrated and described, their geographic distributions mapped, their hosts listed, and when available, their life cycles, seasonal abundance and role as vectors of disease are provided.

The 11 species in the genus Amblyomma that are, or have been, found in Southern African are illustrated and described, their geographic distributions mapped, their hosts listed, and when available, their life cycles, seasonal abundance and role as vectors of disease are provided.

This section provides a brief overview of the countries of Southern Africa and the physiography, climate and biomes of the region. A recommended source of detailed information on the countries and data related to agricultural resources can be accessed on the website http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/counprof/‘country’/‘country’.htm. This section a...

This is a comprehensive work summarizing the current state of knowledge of the biology of the hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Maputo Province, Mozambique). It provides an overview of the history of tick research in Southern Africa and the evolution of our knowledge of the tick...

Despite a large number of studies on tick biology, there is limited information on long- term changes in tick populations. This study thus aimed to assess the long-term population dynamics of questing ixodid ticks in two landscape zones of the Kruger National Park (KNP). Questing ixodid ticks were collected in the KNP from August 1988 to March 2002...

The study aimed to assess the long-term population dynamics of questing Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Rhipicephalus zambeziensis in two landscape zones of the Kruger National Park (KNP). Ticks were collected by dragging the vegetation monthly in three habitats (grassland, woodland and gully) at two sites in the KNP (Nhlowa Road and Skukuza) from...

Despite many studies regarding tick ecology, limited information on long-term changes in tick populations exist. This study assessed the long-term population dynamics of the less frequently collected questing ixodid ticks in the Kruger National Park (KNP). From 1988 to 2002, monthly dragging of the vegetation was performed in three habitats (grassl...

Ticks, as vectors of disease and damage agents, impact directly and indirectly on the economy of the livestock industry in southern Africa. This study surveyed the occurrence and distribution of ticks infesting livestock across the North West province, South Africa. During three phases in consecutive years, officers of the provincial Veterinary Dep...

Despite a large number of studies on tick biology, there is limited information on long- term changes in tick populations. This study thus aimed to assess the long-term population dynamics of questing ixodid ticks in two landscape zones of the Kruger National Park (KNP). Questing ixodid ticks were collected in the KNP from August 1988 to March 2002...

The study aimed to assess the long-term population dynamics of questing Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Rhipicephalus zambeziensis in two landscape zones of the Kruger National Park (KNP). Ticks were collected by dragging the vegetation monthly in three habitats (grassland, woodland and gully) at two sites in the KNP (Nhlowa Road and Skukuza) from...

Despite many studies regarding tick ecology, limited information on long-term changes in tick populations exist. This study assessed the long-term population dynamics of the less frequently collected questing ixodid ticks in the Kruger National Park (KNP). From 1988 to 2002, monthly dragging of the vegetation was performed in three habitats (grassl...

A serological survey of bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis was conducted in the foot-and-mouth disease buffer zone surrounding the Kruger National Park in South Africa between 2001 and 2003 to determine whether the withdrawal of government-subsidized dipping in certain regions had affected the seroprevalence of these tick-borne diseases. Seropreval...

Bovine anaplasmosis, caused by the tick-borne rickettsia Anaplasma marginale, is endemic in South Africa and results in considerable economic loss to the cattle industry. This study was designed to characterize strains of A. marginale at the molecular level from cattle raised in communal and commercial farms in the north-eastern and south-western r...

The effect of a decoction of pulverized aloe leaves (Aloe marlothii) mixed with tap water and administered orally through a gastric tube was determined against ticks on cattle. The decoction was administered to six randomly selected calves seven times at 3-day intervals while the remaining calves received an equivalent amount of tap water only. Fiv...

This paper describes the first successful in vitro cultivation of a South African isolate of an Anaplasma sp., initially thought to be Anaplasma marginale, in the continuous tick cell line IDE8. Blood from a bovine naturally infected with A. marginale kept on the farm Kaalplaas (28 degrees 08' E, 25 degrees 38' S) was collected, frozen, thawed and...

Sixteen experimental burn plot replicates, in groups of four, in four landscape zones of the Kruger National Park, South Africa, and from which wildlife are not excluded, have been subjected to fixed, regular burning regimens since 1954. In 1999, a study to determine the effect of burning on ixodid ticks questing for hosts from the vegetation of th...

The tortoise tick Amblyomma marmoreum was collected from large numbers of reptiles and other animals during the course of numerous surveys conducted in South Africa. A total of 1229 ticks, of which 550 were adults, were recovered from 309 reptiles belonging to 13 species, with leopard tortoises, Geochelone pardalis being the most heavily infested....

The susceptibility of the larval offspring of engorged female Boophilus decoloratus, and of the engorged females, collected from cattle on the dairy farms Brycedale, Sunny Grove and Welgevind in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, was tested against the acaricides amitraz, chlorfenvinphos and cypermethrin. Resistance was determined by means of...

A field study (February 2000 to August 2001) was conducted on communal and commercial farms in the Eastern Cape and North-West Provinces of South Africa to detect the levels of tick resistance to commonly used acaricides. The larvae obtained from engorged females of the one-host tick Boophilus decoloratus, the two-host tick Rhipicepalus evertsi eve...

Ixodid ticks were collected at weekly intervals from February 1999 to April 2000 from domestic dogs belonging to people in rural communities in north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal. Seven ticks were identified to species level and adult Haemaphysalis leachi followed by immature Amblyomma hebraeum and adult Rhipicephalus simus were the most prevalent. Infest...

Free-living ixodid ticks were collected monthly from August 1988 to July 1993 from the vegetation of landscape zones 17 (Sclerocarya caffra/Acacia nigrescens Savanna) and 4 (Thickets of the Sabie and Crocodile Rivers) in the south-east and south-west of the Kruger National Park respectively, and parasitic ticks from scrub hares in the latter landsc...

Ixodid ticks were collected from scrub hares (Lepus saxatilis) at three localities. Nine tick species were recovered from 24 hares examined at Pafuri, Kruger National Park, Northern Transvaal. The most abundant and prevalent species were Hyalomma truncatum, Rhipicephalus kochi and a Rhipicephalus species (near R. pravus). Twelve tick species were c...

A low molecular mass anticoagulant (17 kDa) was isolated from the salivary glands of prefed female Hyalomma truncatum ticks by means of reverse phase and anion-exchange HPLC. Trypsin digestion and amino acid analysis confirmed the protein nature of the anticoagulant. The inhibitor appears to be uncompetitive with a Ki of 6.9 x 10(-10)M. The target...

The availability and expediency of acaricides for the control of ticks, together with the development of vaccination procedures against tick-borne diseases as a matter of priority, initially preceded information gained from research on tick ecology. The establishment of acaricide resistance, the increasing cost of chemical control and the data on p...

A total of 264 scrub hares (Lepus saxatilis) were examined for ixodid ticks at various localities in the Kruger National Park, eastern Transvaal Lowveld. Thirteen tick species were recovered from these hares. The seasonal abundances of the immature stages of Amblyomma hebraeum, Amblyomma marmoreum, Hyalomma truncatum, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus,...

Sets of four kudus were shot and examined for arthropod parasites at approximately monthly intervals from April 1981 to March 1983 in the southern part of the Kruger National Park, eastern Transvaal Lowveld. These animals harboured 10 ixodid tick species of which Boophilus decoloratus followed by Amblyomma hebraeum were the most abundant. The seaso...

A supervised veld-burn in the Sclerocarya caffra/Acacia nigrescens Savanna landscape zone in the south-eastern region of the Kruger National Park was carried out during September 1988. The effect of the fire on the free-living tick population was determined by comparing the numbers of ticks collected by monthly drag-sampling in the burnt zone with...

Lepus saxatilis body length (excluding tail), body mass and eviscerated carcass mass of females were significantly greater than those of males. Perinephric fat mass showed distinct seasonality, reaching a peak in July and August in males, and peaking in August and September in females. Reproduction was aseasonal; 85.1% of adult females were gravid,...

The identification of a 70-kDa immunogen present in salivary gland extracts of several ixodid species, namely Hyalomma truncatum (sweating-sickness-inducing (SS+) and non-inducing (SS-) strains), Hyalomma marginatum rufipes and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, is reported. The immunogen was identified by Western blots using a monoclonal antibody of t...

Current small stock tick control practices and producer attitudes towards tick control in the eastern Cape Province of South Africa are discussed. These were ascertained from returns to a questionnaire survey to which 31.2% of farmers polled, responded. In general, producers did not favour an intensive tick control policy for small stock. Angora, m...

Current cattle tick control practices and producer attitudes towards tick control in the eastern Cape Province of South Africa are discussed. These were ascertained from answers to a questionnaire survey to which 31.2% of farmers responded. In general, producers favoured intensive tick control. Beef and dairy farmers had a definite preference for s...

Guinea-pigs inoculated with crude homogenate of unfed nymphs of the tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and with three semipurified fractions of the homogenate obtained by gel permeation chromatography, acquired a significant degree of immunity to infestation with adults of this tick. Fraction 2 induced the highest reduction (66%) in mean weight of e...

Seventy-six helmeted guineafowls (Numida meleagris) were shot in the Andries Vosloo Kudu Reserve and on an adjacent farm in the eastern Cape Province during the period May 1985 to January 1987 and their tick burdens determined. A total of 10 ixodid tick species were recovered, of which Amblyomma hebraeum, Amblyomma marmoreum and Haemaphysalis silac...

Although of low morbidity, sweating sickness is readily induced in calves by infestation with positive Hyalomma truncatum adult ticks. This epitheliotrophic disease has no specific cure except by the administration of hyperimmune serum obtained from animals which have recovered and are subsequently immune to the disease. Treatment with hyperimmune...

The effect of tick infestation of Hereford, Bonsmara and Nguni cows on the weaning masses of their calves in a dipping versus non-dipping situation was investigated. Breed had a major effect on the level of tick infestation, Herefords being most susceptible and Ngunis least. The productivity of Nguni cows, as measured by the weaning masses of their...

Free-living ticks were collected by means of drag-sampling in 32 of the 35 landscape zones of the Kruger National Park during a period of 1 calendar month. Of the 18,199 specimens collected, 99.53% were larvae, 0.05% nymphs and 0.42% adults. Fourteen species were collected. Amblyomma hebraeum followed by Boophilus decoloratus, predominated, both in...

The identification of antigens unique to the positive strain of the tickHyalomma truncatum is discussed. Cattle were separately immunized against sweating-sickness-positive and sweating-sickness-negative ticks. A study was done to demonstrate the difference in protein patterns of crude salivary-gland extracts between positive and negative ticks. Im...

Numida meleagris body length, foot length, toe span and casque height were significantly greater in males than in females. -from Authors

Samples of 6, 1st generation larval populations of Boophilus decoloratus, originating from field collected females, were subjected to increasing doses of the organophosphate acaricide, Dioxathion. The dose-response relationship for 3 populations showed random heterogeneity, while systematic deviations from the linear probit lines were observed for...

Data collected on both free-living and parasitic tick populations are likely to be overdispersed. The use of means from few replicate samples of overdispersed data as quantitative estimators of tick population density is in turn likely to lead to inaccurate interpretations which may be scientifically misleading. In this paper ways of estimating ove...

Studies were made on the duration of the prehatch period of Boophilus decoloratus and on the subsequent survival and viability of larvae under natural conditions. The length of the prehatch and larval survival periods was found to be inversely dependent on increased temperature. A high initial temperature at the time of female drop decreased the pr...

Counts of engorged female ticks on naturally infested cattle over a 2 year period, showed that indigenous Nguni cattle harboured significantly fewer Amblyomma hebraeum, Boophilus decoloratus and Hyalomma spp. during periods of peak abundance than either Bonsmara or Hereford cattle. Fewer abscesses, associated with tick bite, were also present in th...

Investigation into an outbreak of suspected photosensitivity in Boer goats grazing green oats (Avena sativa) led to the finding of microscopical parenchymal crystaloid material and biliary microliths in the livers of 3 ewes that were killed for necropsy. Neither Tribulus terrestris nor Panicum spp. occurred on the farm. Further investigation result...

Feeding under constant cold conditions resulted in a marginal shortening of feeding period and a major shortening of the subsequent developmental phase of all stages of Ixodes rubicundus Neumann 1904, the Karoo paralysis tick. Paralysis occurred in laboratory rabbits when nymphae were fed on them under constant warm, constant cold and fluctuating a...

One bushbuck, Tragelaphus scriptus, and 1 common duiker, Sylvicapra grimmia, were shot each month from May 1983 to May 1984 in the Weza State Forest, Natal, i.e. a total of 13 animals of each species. The bushbuck were infested with 8 ixodid tick species, 2 louse species and a louse-fly species. The common duiker harboured 7 tick species and 2 lous...

Recent research interest in Karoo tick paralysis and its vector. Ixodes rubicundus, prompted this survey to determine the economic implications of this disease. The survey indicated relatively high losses caused by the condition, identified the stock involved and provided data on the incidence of paralysis and on the control methods employed. Recom...

Socio-economic factors and environmental considerations have increasingly encouraged the search for methods of tick control other than acaricidal treatment. Biological control management regimes have, so far, not proved to be sound replacements for acaricides. The major natural control methods employed successfully at present are host resistance an...

Two groups of calves were respectively immunized with heartwater blood (BV) and ground-up tick suspension (GUTS) vaccine. A third group was left unimmunized as controls. No difference in the immune status conferred could be demonstrated between the 2 vaccines at 6 months and 12 months challenge after vaccination. An index, based on the rectal tempe...

An investigation undertaken with the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on new and used teat cup liners revealed the generally poor quality of luminal surfaces. Even those of the brand-new distributor controls showed significant faults in the evenness and continuity of the liner surface. A hundred and 500 milkings apparently tend to aggravat...

Engorged females of Boophilus microplus, stored at 4 degrees C for up to 5 days, and females, kept at room temperature for 1 day and then at 4 degrees C for 1 day, showed no significant differences in their response to an organophosphate as determined by the Drummond adult test.

An attempt was made to attenuate Cowdria ruminantium by irradiation of the nymphal stage of its tick host, Amblyomma hebraeum. The irradiated nymphs were homogenized and serial dilutions of the resultant suspension were injected intravenously into heartwater-susceptible sheep. No attenuation could be demonstrated but the results indicate that progr...

Ixodes (Afrixodes) matopi n. sp. is described from females and males collected off twigs bearing deposits of intraspecific communication marks secreted by the pre-orbital glands of the klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus and from laboratory-reared immature specimens. One female was also found on a goat. The 4 collections were all from Zimbabwe, 3 of...

Ixodes (Afrixodes) matopi occurs in association with the klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) in rocky areas in Zimbabwe. The adult ticks are specific parasites of this antelope and the immature stages feed on klipspringers, hydraxes (Procavia capensis and Heterohyrax brucei) and red rock hares (Pronolagus crassicaudatus). Adults are active only in...

The effects of 60Co irradiation on Amblyomma hebraeum Koch, 1844 were studied by mating normal females to males irradiated to attain dosages of 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 kilorad. The males of all 5 groups were observed mating 7 days after being placed on the host. The higher the irradiation dosage received by the males, progressively longer were the feeding...

Virgin females of both Boophilus decoloratus and Boophilus microplus, when mated with males of the other species, subsequently produced sterile eggs. Counts of spermiophore capsules in female seminal receptacles showed that the males of both species will mate with the females of both species and that B. microplus males show a slightly greater, but...

Phases in the growth of the reproductive organs and gametogenesis were followed in both males and females of Boophilus decoloratus (Koch, 1844). Special attention was given to the timing of meiosis, the production of mature spermiophores, mating and spermiophore relocation in the female. The main growth phase of the male testes takes place during t...