Contrary to Heisch*s experience, they state that v/ild specimens 

 "adapt themselves to feeding on mice and guineapigs easier than 

 house ticks". 



Wild Reptile Hosts 



Bedford (193^) listed several collections from South African 

 tortoises. Theiler (unpublished) has records of nymphs and adults 

 from four species of South African tortoises, Testudo oculifera , 

 T, verreauxii , T. schgnlandi , and Homopus f emoralis from Kimberley 

 and Wodehouse DTstricts and from Namaqualand . Theiler considers 

 tortoises to be exceptional hosts. 



Rodhain (1920,1922B,C) found that blood of lizards, geckos, 

 and snakes is easily digested by 0, moubata . Although nymphs that 

 had fed on snakes died in larger numbers than those that had fed 

 on mammals, survivors reached the same size as mammal—fed individ- 

 uals. Chameleon blood is initially very toxic, and digestion is 

 slow and difficult. Thoxigh many ticks die after feeding on cha- 

 meleons, a few do become adapted to it. Individuals that had fed 

 exclusively on chameleons for sixteen months subsequently fed on 

 mice when allowed to do so. Van Hoof il92U) reported similar 

 findings. As already stated, tortoises sometimes are infested in 

 South Africa, but no other collections from cold-blooded verte- 

 brates in nature have been reported. 



BIOLOGY 



Life Cycle 



Life history details have been studied and reported by Button 

 and Todd (1905A), Newstead (1905A,B,C,1906A,B) and Wellman (1906C , 

 D,1907A), These were reviewed by Nuttall et al (1908), Subsequent 

 observations were reported by Cxinliffe (19*^ )T~Jobling (1925), and 

 Pierquin and Niemegeers (1953)*. Other contributions on special- 

 ized phases are noted below. Some discrepancies in observations 

 exist, but the broad outlines of the life cycle are well established. 

 Critical and restrictive factors are poorly known and no observa- 

 tions on the life cycle under natural conditions have been under- 

 taken. The natural history of 0, moubata is gradually being eliu 



*The dates of publication of these reports will not be repeated in 

 the life cycle section. 



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