Rhipicephalus sanguineus and R-turanicus (Acari: Ixodidae): Closely related species with different biological characteristics

Life cycle parameters of 2 closely related tick species, Rhipicephalus sanguineus Latreille and R. turanicus Pomerantsev, were studied under laboratory conditions. Both Rhipicephalus, which have small adults, demonstrated the same adaptations as large tick species inhabiting deserts and semideserts: high reproductive rate, decrease in egg size, and an increase in interstage growth to compensate for the smaller size at birth. Pronounced quantitative differences between both species were discerned in relation to these adaptations. Female R. turanicus produced twice as many eggs as R. sanguineus which was facilitated by the greater amount of blood engorged by females and by the smaller egg weight in R. turanicus as compared with R. sanguineus. In all developmental stages, the weight increase from unfed to fed ticks was greater in R. turanicus than in R. sanguineus (23% higher in larvae, 118% in nymphs, and 26% in females). The increase in weight in R. turanicus from the unfed larva (0.013 mg) to the unfed female (3.31 ma) was 254-fold, and in R. sanguineus it was 127-fold (from 0.021 to 2.54 mg). In nymphal R. turanicus, the higher density and the greater height of the dorsal epicuticular folds, as well as procuticular indentations found inside the folds allow this tick to stretch its alloscutum during blood engorgement to a greater extent than R. sanguineus. The rates of blood ingestion (for nymphs and females), egg maturation, and metamorphosis were 1.1-1.7 times greater in R. turanicus than in R. sanguineus. A life cycle strategy with both a higher reproductive rate and faster development in R. turanicus may be explained by its greater dependence on environmental factors than that in R. sanguineus.