title: Life cycle of Ornithodoros rostratus (Acari: Argasidae) ticks feeding on mice under laboratory conditions.
abstract: Ornithodoros rostratus Aragão is an argasid tick found in Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Only limited studies about O. rostratus have been conducted and several aspects of their life cycle differ among studies or remain unexplored. In order to better elucidate the biology of O. rostratus, the present work describes its life cycle when feeding on mice under laboratory conditions. To complete their life cycle on mice, O. rostratus goes through a larval stage, 3-6 nymphal instars (nymph 1-6) and adult male and female. Adults can be originated from nymph 3-6. Nymphs 4 with higher weight after feeding tend to originate adults. Adults originated from early instars tended to be lighter. Females tended to be heavier than males. Larvae needed on average 2.7 days to complete their blood meal whereas other instars ranged from 17.3 to 78.3 min. The capacity to ingest blood was higher in larvae and females in comparison to males. The preecdysis period ranged from 5 to 12.5 days. After one blood meal, females remain on average 15.2 ± 5.8 days laying 276.8 ± 137.2.9 eggs. Females originated from nymph 4 had similar oviposition time, egg incubation and conversion ingested blood/number of eggs produced, but presented lower initial weigh and weigh gain, generating fewer eggs. Our results added novel information on O. rostratus biology and was discussed considering the variability of argasid populations and in context with the differences about their life cycle described in previous works.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fisiologia de Insetos Hematófagos, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriel Cerqueira Alves
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Adriana Coelho
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Marcos Horácio
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Nelder Figueiredo
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Gontijo
authors.forename: Maurício Roberto Viana
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sant'Anna
authors.forename: Ricardo Nascimento
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Araujo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D026861:Ornithodoros / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D010058:Oviposition