title: Occurrence of Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) in Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) in southern Italy.
abstract: Natural enemies of ticks include the parasitoid wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the occurrence of I. hookeri DNA in a community of ticks (Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor marginatus, Hyalomma marginatum, Haemaphysalis inermis and Rhipicephalus turanicus). From May 2010 to March 2012, ticks were collected monthly by dragging and flagging, identified, and 481 adults and 305 nymphs screened molecularly for infection with I. hookeri. Of the samples tested (n=786), 3.1% (n=25) were positive for I. hookeri DNA, 7.2% (n=22) in nymphs and 0.6% (n=3) in adults. I. hookeri DNA was only detected in I. ricinus. This study shows that I. hookeri infests I. ricinus in southern Italy, with nymphs being the main developmental stage affected by this wasp.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Rafael Antonio Nascimento
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Bronwyn Evelyn
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Whittle
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo Paolo
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Lia
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Padova, Legnaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Montarsi
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Apulia and Basilicata, Putignano, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parisi
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy; Department of Immunology, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães (Fiocruz-PE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dantas-Torres
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy. Electronic address: domenico.otranto@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Otranto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007558:Italy; D018884:Ixodes / Q000469:parasitology*; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph; D014863:Wasps / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Ixodiphagus; Molecular identification; Parasitoid; Ticks