Accumulating process and concentration ratios of ingested blood meals in larvae and nymphs of ten species of ticks.

The accumulating process and concentration ratios of ingested blood meals in the larvae and nymphs of Amblyomma testudinarium, Haemaphysalis campanulata, H. concinna, H. formosensis, H. hystricis, H. kitaokai, the bisexual and parthenogenetic strains of H. longicornis, H. megaspinosa, and Ixodes persulcatus on rabbits and Argas japonicus on chickens were comparatively investigated. The larvae and nymphs of the ixodid ticks examined and the larvae of A. japonicus concentrated the ingested blood meals up to about 3 times. In general, the larvae showed low concentration ratios due to their tendency to imbibe a certain proportion of non-blood components. The nymphs generally showed high concentration ratios. H. kitaokai belongs to the subgenus Alloceraea, the members of which are unique rapid feeders. It showed a high activity in concentrating ingested blood meal and presented the same general pattern of feeding as the other ixodid ticks which are very slow feeders.