[Range and ecology of Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius, 1794) in Mazuria focus. III. The influence of temperature and day length on the activity of hungry adult ticks in laboratory conditions].

The influence of day length and temperature on the activity of adult Dermacentor reticulatus was studied in two experiments. In the first one, changes in the activity of ticks kept in three aquariums were observed where the differentiating factor was day length (14, 15.5 and 17 h). In all of the three variants the activity of ticks decreased over time. The activity of ticks kept in the conditions of a 17 h day decreased the fastest; the decrease was a little slower in the conditions of a 15 h day, and in the conditions of a 14 h day it was the slowest. In the second experiment, changes in the activity of ticks kept in the conditions of a long (20 h) and short (10 h) day was observed, with temperatures differentiated between 18 degrees and 25 degrees C. The activity of hungry adult ticks was most limited in the conditions of a long (20 h) day and high temperatures (25 degrees C), while it decreased somewhat more slowly in the conditions of a long day and moderate temperatures (18 degrees C). An even slower decrease in their activity was observed when day length was reduced to 10 h; it was more marked in temperatures around 25 degrees C than 18 degrees C.