MORPHOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HYBRID LARVAE AND NYMPHS OF THE SHEEP (IXODES RICINUS L., 1758) AND TAIGA (IXODES PERSULCATUS SCH., 1930) TICKS (ACARI: IXODIDAE)

About authors:

Ludmila A. Grigoryeva, e-mail

Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

Shatrov A. B., Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya emb. 1, 199034, St-Petersburg, Russia

Anastasya V. Zaytseva,

St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine, St. Petersburg, Russia

Acknowledgments:

The present study was supported by the Scientific Government Program “The development of the modern basis for the taxonomy and the phylogenetics of the parasitic and bloodsucking arthropods” (State Registration № 1021051603202-7). The SEM procedures were realized using the Core Facilities Centre “Taxon” at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia. We thank K. A. Benken, an engineer at this Centre, for the assistance with the SEM analysis.

Annotation:

The external morphology of the larvae and nymphs of the interspecific hybrids of the European forest and taiga ticks (Ixodes ricinus (L., 1758) and I. persulcatus Sch., 1930, respectively), taken from laboratory culture, was examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Our article presents a comparative diagnosis of the hybrids and lists their differences from the parent species. Our analysis is based on the size and the number of marginal, premarginal and median setae on the dorsal body side; epimeral and adanal setae on the ventral body side in nymphs; and marginal setae in larvae. The ecological characteristics of the larvae and nymphs of the interspecific hybrids in the natural inserts were also observed. The results show that the lifespan of larvae F1 ♀ I. persulcatus × ♂ I. ricinus is 14–16 months, F1 ♀ I. ricinus × ♂ I. persulcatus—12–15 months; for the nymphs, the life expectancy in F1 ♀ I. persulcatus × ♂ I. ricinus is 14–16 months, F1 ♀ I. ricinus × ♂ I. persulcatus—12–15 months.

DOI: 10.21684/0132-8077-2024-32-2-179-190

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