Tick tactics : interactions between habitat characteristics, hosts and microorganisms in relation to the biology of the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus

The sheep tick Ixodes ricinus (L.) is known to transmit a large number of pathogens of medical and veterinary importance, including the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis. Ixodes ricinus is found predominantly in woodlands, which provide suitable hosts and microclimates for tick survival. Three blood meals from a wide array of possible hosts are needed to complete the tick life cycle within 2 to 6 years. Ticks can acquire B. burgdorferi s.l. during a blood meal on an infected host and can infect a new host during the next blood meal. In this thes... Mehr ...