Wilson (1953) has stressed that the factors governing the dis- 

 tribution of this tick in East and Central Africa require further 

 study. 



In untreated Northern Rhodesian cattle, *hlue ticks in all 



stages were present throvighout the full year's observation. 



These ticks quickly became very abundant, the cattle being gross- 

 ly infested through May, June and July. There was no evidence of 

 decrease in infestation throughout the dry season apart from a 

 slight decrease in late July and August. The blue tick infesta- 

 tion did not build up during the wet season*. ^Matthysse (1954^ 



The red-billed oxpecker or tickbird, Buphagus e. erythrorhyn - 

 chus (Stanley) , which attends all of the larger herXivores except 

 the elephant and hippopotamus, is a predator of some in^xDrtance on 

 B. decoloratus and on other economically in^xartant ticks. Of 58 

 Tick-birds examined in Tanganyika, 51 blue ticks were found in the 

 stomach contents of thirteen: the number of ticks per stomach ranged 

 from one to ten (Moreau 1933). In Kenya, van Someren (l95l) found 

 38 blue ticks in stomach contents of four out of twelve of these 

 birds that he examined. See p. 275 for a discussion of this svh- 

 ject. 



REMARKS 



Schulze (193^) remarked that the spurlike prolongation of the 

 male adanal shield is sometimes separated from the base in a posi- 

 tion similar to that of the subanal shields of Hyalomma species. 

 Two hundred and fifty males have been examined from various parts 

 of Africa without seeing a similar condition. Schulze also (1932C) 

 compared the adanal shields of B. decoloratus with morphological 

 peculiarities of fossil Eophrynus . The triple capsule of the 

 haller's organ in B. decoloratus has been described and illustrated 

 by Schulze (l9Al).~ Double diagonal striations of the nerve fibers 

 have been noted and illxistrated by Kruger (1935). The blue tick 

 has been employed by Gossel (1935) to delineate features of the 

 eyes sind their related cells in ticks. Abnormal specimens have 

 been noted (Warburton and Nuttall 1909, and Bedford 192^A). 



- 3U- 



