become replete in from twenty to fifty minutes, usually in thirty 

 to forty minutes. Males may emerge from the first nymphal molt, 

 but usually nymphs molt twice before becoming adults. Males and 

 females may feed within seven days after molting. Duration of 

 adult feeding is thirty or forty minutes. No female has ovi^ 

 posited within six months after the nymphaL-adult molt, even though 

 she has been with a male continuously and both have had two to six 

 blood meals. The first egg batch follows a blood meal by about a 

 week. The first oviposition appears to trigger a physiological 

 release mechanism for, in several instances, three months after- 

 wards femsLLes have deposited a fertile egg batch with or without 

 a meal. We are at present attempting to ascertain whether the 

 long interval between molting and oviposition is peculiar to 

 these laboratory observations or whether it is a usual feature 

 in our local populations. 



A, vespertilionis is more lethargic than A, boueti . Adults, 

 if undisturbed while imbibing from a vein in tie wing membrane 

 of a bat, may remain attached for as long as five hours after 

 engorgement is apparently completed. The feeding tick remains 

 motionless with all legs down but, when fully distended without 

 release of mouthparts from the host skin, it usually raises the 

 fore legs to an antennalike position. During engorgement the 

 beak is disengaged from the host skin only after considerable 

 disturbance. 



Large blood clots form at the site of the bite, both on the 

 bat's body and in the wing membrane. This phenomenon, on bats, 

 is in marked contrast to that observed by Lavoipierre and Riek 

 (1955 )> using ticks from our collections, and laboratory rodents. 

 The greater avidity with which these ticks attack bats probably 

 accounts for the more conspicuous sequelae in these animals. 



Larvae may be found ajiywhere on the body or wing membranes, 

 but most commonly at the edge of the hairy parts, seldom on the 

 head, feet, tail, or trailing edge of the wings. 



Ecology 



European and African populations of this tick, which thus 

 far cannot be morphologically differentiated, withstand a wide 



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