Predators of the tickAmblyomma variegatum (Acari: Ixodidae) in Guadeloupe, French West indies

Abstract

Some vertebrate species in Guadeloupe are predators of free or parasitic stages of Amblyomma variegatum (Fabricius). Among birds, 1.9% of the 421 identified animals found in the stomachs of grackles (Quiscalus lugubris), 1.6% of the 364 animals found in the stomachs of free-ranging chickens, and 0.3% of the 4642 animals found in the stomach of cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) were A. variegatum ticks. The most efficient predator of ticks was the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata, which was observed to only attack engorged stages of ticks. An average of 8% of the 564 individual ticks or batch of ticks released on the ground, mainly in a grass environment, were attacked by this ant species. Mice (Mus musculus) and mongooses (Herpestes auropunctatus) feed on engorged nymphs and female ticks. None of the 15 strains of entomophagous nematodes, genera Steinernema and Heterorhabditis, experimentally put in contact with engorged larvae and nymphs were able to parasitize them. In the laboratory, the insects Megaselia scalaris (Diptera) and Tineola sp. (Lepidoptera) were occasionally found to feed on engorged and unfed ticks, respectively.

Birds as predators of ticks (Ixodoidea) in South Africa

“…He considered the reputation of the cattle egret as a "tick destroyer" to be undeserved. This conclusion is supported by data presented by Barre et al (1991) for cattle egret in the West Indies and by McKilligan (1984) for Australia.…”

Biological control of ticks

“…Several authors have reviewed specific groups of natural enemies of ticks, including pathogens (Lipa, 1971 ;Hoogstraal, 1977 ;Chandler et al 2000), nematodes (Samish, Alekseev & Glazer, 2000 a, b;, parasitoids (Cole, 1965 ;Trjapitzin, 1985 ;Davis, 1986 ;Hu, Hyland & Oliver, 1998 ;Knipling & Steelman, 2000), and predators (Barre et al 1991 ;Mwangi, Newson & Kaaya, 1991 b ;Samish & Alexseev, 2001).…”

Morphology of puparia of Megaselia scalaris (Diptera: Phoridae), a fly species of medical and forensic importance

“…The larvae are myiasis-producing agents in humans and animals (Zumpt 1965;Singh and Rana 1989;Disney 1994;Hira et al 2004), and pestiferous in fruit (Karunaweera et al 2002), while adults are a predator of other insect colonies (Barre et al 1991). This fly has been employed as an animal subject in biological and/or medical experiments (Suck and Traut 2000;Harrison and Cooper 2003;Trumble and Jensen 2004).…”