title: First records of the tick Ixodes frontalis (Panzer, 1795) (Acari, Ixodidae) in Slovakia.
abstract: Ixodes frontalis (Panzer, 1975) is a three-host tick usually considered strictly specific to birds. The first evidence of I. frontalis from Slovakia is presented in this paper. One male and 4 nymphs were collected using the flagging method in 2 different geomorphological units, the Slovak Karst and the Zvolen basin, during collections in the autumn of 2011, and next in spring and autumn 2012. The fact that we managed to capture 2 different stages of I. frontalis several times on vegetation supports one of the following hypotheses: (i) The ticks are frequently imported by migratory birds, or (ii) a permanent surviving population currently exists in Central Europe.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 04001 Košice, Slovak Republic. Electronic address: martinbonask@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bona
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stanko
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D001717:Birds; D018884:Ixodes / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification*; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph; D012621:Seasons; D018154:Slovakia
keywords: Flagging method; Ixodes frontalis; Slovakia; Ticks