Hosts & distribution of Rocky Mountain wood ticks (<i>Dermacentor andersoni</i>) at a tick focus in British Columbia rangeland
Keywords:
<i>Dermacentor andersoni</i>, Rocky Mountain wood tick, <i>Eutamias amoenus</i>, <i>Peromyscus maniculatus</i>, <i>Marmota flaviventris</i>, <i>Neotoma cinerea</i>, <i>Tamiasciurus hudsonicus</i>Abstract
In a study of a Rocky Mountain wood tick (RMWT) population, <i>Eutamias amoenus</i> and <i>Peromyscus maniculatus</i> were the hosts most frequently trapped. Of these <i>E. amoenus</i> carried the greater number of immature RMWT. RMWT were also found in decreasing order of abundance on the following larger rodents: <i>Marmota flaviventris</i>, <i>Neotoma cinerea</i>, and <i>Tamiasciurus hudsonicus</i>. Of 3 areas sampled in and near the tick focus in 1967, most of the ticks were found on the uppermost steep and rocky, shrubby area, while the fewest were taken on a less steep grassy slope with few rocks. Sherman traps were the most efficient of 7 types tested in 1967 for capturing small mammals.
In both 1967 and 1968, larvae were most abundant on rodents in July, and scarce or absent from September to June. In 1968, trapping rodents from March to October revealed a major increase in nymph numbers in April and May, and a smaller rise in August and early September. In 1967, CO, as dry ice attracted only a few adult and nymphal ticks, when placed on and near the trap lines and rodent burrows. The number of unfed adult ticks/100 m<sup>2</sup>, recorded by flagging on and near the trap lines, declined each year in 1968 to 1970. In addition to RMWT, a few <i>Ixodes kingi</i> and <i>I. marmotae</i> were collected from mustelids and rodents.
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