Climbing Behavior and Host-Finding of Larval Rabbit Ticks (Haemaphysalis leporispalustris)

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Abstract
The rabbit tick (H. leporispalustris) is highly host-specific. Adults feed almost exclusively on rabbits. Immatures feed primarily on rabbits but will attack birds. When larvae leave the daytime resting form of the rabbit, they climb up to a position on vegetation where they can encounter a host. Experiments using glass rod models to represent vegetation showed that ticks selected a position which had greatest substrate curvature and was at rabbit body height. This strato-orientation restricts the tick''s host spectrum to rabbits and ground-dwelling or feeding birds.

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