Abstract
The distributions of endemic tick vector species as well as the presence of species not endemic to Free State Province, South Africa, were determined during surveys or opportunistic collections from livestock, wildlife and vegetation. Amongst endemic ticks, the presence of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus was confirmed in the north of the province, whilst Rhipicephalus decoloratus was collected at 31 localities mostly in the centre and east, and Ixodes rubicundus at 11 localities in the south, south-west and centre of the province. Amongst the non-endemic species adult Amblyomma hebraeum were collected from white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) on four privately owned farms, whilst the adults of Rhipicephalus microplus were collected from cattle and a larva from vegetation at four localities in the east of the province. The collection of Rhipicephalus evertsi mimeticus from a sheep in the west of the province is the second record of its presence in the Free State, whereas the presence of Haemaphysalis silacea on helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris) and vegetation in the centre of the province represents a first record for this species in the Free State. The first collection of the argasid tick, Ornithodoros savignyi, in the Free State was made from a domestic cow and from soil in the west of the province. The localities at which the ticks were collected have been plotted and the ticks’ role in the transmission or cause of disease in domestic livestock and wildlife is discussed.
Highlights
Cattle and the larger wildlife species are the preferred hosts of the adults of a multitude of ixodid tick species in South Africa
Rhipicephalus appendiculatus A single larva, some nymphs and a male tick were collected from buffaloes on a farm in tree and bush savannah close to Parys in the northern Free State, and larvae and nymphs from drag-samples of vegetation on the same farm (Figure 2)
Its recovery from cattle, buffaloes and vegetation indicate that it is well established in this habitat. This set of circumstances creates the ideal environment for the transmission of buffaloderived T. parva from buffaloes to cattle, with the resultant occurrence of Corridor disease and mortality in the cattle, should an infected buffalo be introduced into this region of the Free State
Summary
The present article combines the results of surveys aimed at determining the hosts, species composition, geographic distributions and seasonal abundance of ticks in the Free State with those obtained from opportunistic collections of ticks in the same province. Females 17 0 1 17 43 < 0.6 202 10 0 3 15 0 3.8 0 6 0 http://www.jsava.co.za doi:10.4102/jsava.v86i1.1255
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