Wallace (1913) noted that in Northern Rhodesia 0. moubata 

 abounded in hilly country and on the Mpika plateau, "But was ab- 

 sent in the hot Luaugwa Valley. The combinations of temperature 

 and relative humidity factors that restrict 0. moubata in nature 

 are still poorly known. " 



Dutton and Todd (1905A,B) aM Bequaert (1919) mentioned an 

 exception to the general rule that 0. moubata does not occur in 

 deeply forested, humid areas. The explanation was that infesta- 

 tions in the Upper Ituri Forest are in wooded areas where arah- 

 isized Negro inhabitants have cut over extensive forests and 

 constructed villages of dry, permanent buildings. In these, ticks 

 brought along the Arab trade route have been able to sijrvive in 

 spite of inclement conditions outside. 



Another notable exception to the usual finding that 0. moubata 

 is absent from high rainfall areas is cited by Walton (193 OA ) . In 

 Meru District, Kenya, even under unfavorable high rainfall and 

 humidity conditions, large popiilations of this tick survive in 

 some huts. The predisposing factor is that the local tribes 

 sleep on dry, raised mud beds. Hosts are readily accessible 

 to ticks and fires near beds keep an area of ground dry enough 

 to meet the tampan's requirements. Agricultiiral implements in 

 these huts provide additional shelters behind and under which 

 the ticks also hide. Contrary to usual advice to remove domestic 

 animals from himan habitations, Walton believes that under Meru 

 District conditions animals provide enough extra hxjmidity and 

 pound floors hard enough to reduce tick populations. Under more 

 lisual conditions, however, this suggestion would probably not be 

 an effective one. In some Meru District huts, where sticky soil 

 has a humidity of about 9QS, it is difficult for ticks to burrow 

 and few specimens are found. Whether this investigator searched 

 for ticks climbing walls or pillars in these huts is not stated, 



A-t Kisxmiu, Heisch (1951^) found that the size of tampan popu- 

 lations in huts is iininfluenced by seasonal variation in rainfall, 



Knowles and Terry (195 O) collected hundreds of nymphal tampans 

 on fowls kept in human habitations in Tanganyika, but Phipps (1950) 

 asserted that chickens are seldom infested there. Carefvil research 

 into the highly practical problem of relationship of chickens to 



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