habiting. It would be contrary to all previotis observations on 

 ixodids to assume that the female selects the situation in which 

 she oviposits, although this possibility must be investigated. 



By way of comparison, immature stages of H. leachii in the 

 Nairobi area prefer deeper nests of Mastorays coucha . Tn the 

 Njoro area of Kenya and in the Sudan, however, we have taken 

 larvae and nymphs of these two ticks species in both shallow 

 and deeper nests. 



Arvicanthis nests are usually within a foot of the surface 

 of the groiind, but sometimes they are two or three times as 

 deep. The nest is reached by a network of a few or many tun- 

 nels, each with a small exit among vegetation. The round nests, 

 composed of lesser or greater amounts of moist grass and leaves, 

 appear to be occupied for several generations. Slight rises, 

 such as borrow heaps, mounds beneath bushes, or pathsides are 

 favorite burrowing sites. These rodents frequently nest and 

 search for food in close association with human activities. 



Habitats of some of the chief South African hosts of im- 

 mature stages (see HOSTS above) differ widely. Aethoinys nama- 

 qiiensis frequents rock crevices and piles of stones while A. 

 chrysophilus is more terrestrial and lives in sheltered bush 

 on the plains , among rocks, or in burrows under bushes or rocks. 

 Otomys lives in holes in the ground or in selfmade shelters in 

 matted vegetation; those in the Karroo construct these shelters 

 from large piles of weeds while others utilize small grass or 

 weed nests in marshes or among rocks. Rhabdomys hides in holes 

 in the ground and its pathways run through dense vegetation. 

 It is evident, therefore, that the usual ecological niches of 

 hosts of immature stages in East Africa differ from those in 

 southern Africa. 



In southern Africa, Theiler (-unpublished) finds that the 

 glossy tick occurs from the eastern tall grass veld (Port Eliza- 

 beth) northwards through subtropical evergreen and deciduous 

 tree and thorn forest into northern Transvaal, Southern Rhodesia, 

 and Mozambique. In these subtropical stretches, the heavy rain- 

 fall areas of Natal are comparable with the coastal plains of 

 Kenya, and the dry, warm conditions in Kruger National Park and 

 northern Transvaal are comparable with central Kenya (see next 

 paragraph). Records indicate this tick to be less common west 



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