Abstract
An experiment was designed to study the effects of hibernation on the production and induction of antibody response to cysticerci of Taenia crassiceps in woodchucks ( Marmota monax). Eight woodchucks were placed at 6 °C (hibernators) and eight at 20 °C (nonhibernators). The food was removed from all woodchucks to induce hibernation or lethargy. Four of each group were infected before hibernation and four after. Cysticerci were injected intraperitoneally. The response was judged by hemagglutination titration. The results showed no difference in antibody level among the four groups. Thus, it is concluded that antibodies to at least some helminths are produced during the period of hibernation. Whether or not production occurs only during the brief periods of arousal was not determined.
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