Ixodides 139 



eight orders of mammals are known to be attacked. Typically the ticks 

 feed intermittently after the habit of bed bugs. Eggs are laid a few at 

 a time. The larvae hatch and feed on the host for an extended period. 

 They then detach and molt into nymphs. Nymphs usually require only 

 an hour or two for feeding. After they have fed they leave the host and 

 molt again into the second nymphal stage. Following another short 

 meal the nymph is again ready to transform and eventually males and 

 females are produced. Males can be distinguished from females in 

 many cases only by slight differences in the genital openings. The male 

 opening is usually slightly smaller and more arcuate. Omithodoros 

 moubata and O. savignyi have larvae that do not feed and the first 

 nymphs are the primary active stage in the life cycle. Otobius megnini, 

 on the other hand, does not feed in the adult stage, and these adults 

 do not have recurved teeth on the hypostome. 



Many argasid ticks frequent the burrows, nests, or homes of their 

 hosts, where they feed intermittently. Ornithodoros talaje, for ex- 

 ample, lives in the crevices of houses in southern Mexico, while O. 

 moubata and Argas persicus are domestic pests in Africa and Persia 

 respectively. Recently several new species of argasids have been de- 

 scribed from bats in North and Central Americas. Cooley and Kohls 

 1944 state: "There are likely still others that infest bats in the United 

 States and probably in Mexico and Central America." It is not sur- 

 prising to find argasids on bats since they are notorious for their 

 homing instincts. 



Argasid ticks are of considerable economic and medical importance. 

 Argas persicus is not only a bothersome domestic pest in parts of its 

 range, but it also infests poultry all over the world, causing much dam- 

 age by its bites. Not only are the bites injurious but also A. persicus 

 transmits a spirochaetal disease to fowls. Cattle are susceptible to the 

 spinose ear tick and deaths of cattle have been ascribed to this tick. 

 Many species bite man and their bites can be extremely painful. Cooley 

 and Kohls 1944 report the following species as attacking man in North 

 America: A. persicus, Otobius megnini, Ornithodoros coriaceus, O. 

 hermsi, O. nicollei, O. parkeri, O. rudis, O. stageri, O. talaje, and O. 

 turicata. The spirochaets of relapsing fever Borrelia spp. are carried to 

 man by at least eleven different species of Ornithodoros. O. parkeri 

 has been demonstrated to carry tularemia experimentally. Rocky 

 Mountain spotted fever, and American fever have been transmitted 

 experimentally by argasids. 



