期刊名称：Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine
印刷版ISSN：1232-1966
电子版ISSN：1898-2263
出版年度：2019
卷号：26
期号：4
页码：1-7
DOI：10.26444/aaem/110128
出版社：Institute of Agricultural Medicine in Lublin
摘要：Objective. This study presents for the first time a case of Hyalomma excavatum hyperparasitism and an analysis of this
phenomenon in terms of its potential role in the biology of ticks and epidemiology of tick-borne diseases.
Materials and method. Two partially engorged H. excavatum females, one fully engorged female, and 5 males were
collected from a naïve rabbit and placed together in a rearing chamber at a temperature of 25°C and 75% humidity.
Results. 3–4 days after tick detachment from the host’s skin, one partially engorged H. excavatum female was observed
attached to the idiosoma of the fully engorged conspecific female.
Conclusions. This study and observations of other authors confirm that partially engorged ixodid ticks can re-infest
the host, and even co-feeding fully engorged ticks in order to collect the blood meal that is indispensable for important
physiological processes. However, inefficient feeding of a partially engorged female on another conspecific female may
reduce its reproductive performance and disturb the development of eggs and larvae. It seems that parasitism of a tick on
another conspecific specimen, when at least one of them is infected by a microorganism, may be a yet poorly explored
route of transmission of pathogens or symbionts between the ticks. Initiation of feeding by a hungry or partially engorged
tick on a fully engorged specimen is an attempt to obtain food in the drastic conditions of the absence of a target host.
Tick hyperparasitism with concurrent pathogen transmission can contribute to the genospecific diversity of pathogens in
vectors and hosts.
关键词：ticks; Hyalomma excavatum; hyperparasitism; transmission of pathogens; tick feeding
