DIFFERENCES IN ATTACHMENT SITE OF THE AUSTRALIAN REPTILE TICK AMBLYOMMA-LIMBATUM (ACARI, IXODIDAE) ON 2 HOST SPECIES

The present study compared the site of attachment of larvae, nymphs and adults of the tick Amblyomma limbatum on two species of reptile host Tiliqua rugosa and Pogona vitticeps. The results showed that for each life cycle stage, the proportion of ticks attached to different sites differed on the two host species. In addition, on each host species, there were marked differences between life cycle stages in their choice of attachment site. These data do not support hypotheses raised to account for attachment site specificity, namely; intraspecific competition, adaptations to increase feeding efficiency or the retention of an ancestral trait. However, Amb. limbatum is flexible in its selection of an attachment site on hosts which may represent an adaptation to maximizing the number of host species it can infest. This would represent an important strategy for colonizing ticks either at the edge of the species range or in marginal population areas.