Ixodes Dammini (Acari: Ixodidae) on White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) in Connecticut1

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
During the 1977 through 1980 hunting seasons (December) in Connecticut, 309 White-tailed Deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) were examined for ectoparasites. Adult Ixodes dammini (1918 males, 960 females) were taken from 58.6% of these deer. Immature I. dammini were not observed on deer during December, although 15 larvae and 1 nymph were taken from a deer in June. Dermacentor albipictus (38 nymphs, 397 males, 160 females) were found on 20.7% of the deer. Does and fawns carried smaller tick loads of both species than did bucks and older deer. The possible role that deer have played in the increase in I. dammini populations in recent years is discussed, as are the public health implications associated with these increases in relation to Lyme disease and babesiosis.