Ability of Unfed Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae) to Survive a Second Winter as Adults in Manitoba, Canada, Near the Northern Limit of Their Range.

TitleAbility of Unfed Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae) to Survive a Second Winter as Adults in Manitoba, Canada, Near the Northern Limit of Their Range.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
JournalJ Med Entomol
Volume52
Issue2
Start Page138
Date Published03/2015
AuthorsYunik ME, Galloway TD, Lindsay LR
Keywordsnorthern distribution limit, snow cover, vector potential, winter survival
Abstract

One thousand seven hundred unfed field-collected adult Dermacentor variabilis (Say) were overwintered in 34 outdoor enclosures near the northern limit of their distribution in Manitoba, Canada. At the northern limits of the range of D. variabilis, it had always been assumed that unfed adult ticks questing in spring succumbed before the next winter and were not part of the population observed in the following year. The ability to survive an additional winter allows ticks to act in a greater capacity as reservoirs for tick-associated pathogens in this region.

DOI10.1093/jme/tju061