New Missouri County Records and Review of the Distribution and Disease Vector Potential of Ornithodoros Kelleyi (Arachnida: Ixodida: Argasidae) and Cimex Adjunctus (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

Abstract

Abstract. The bat tick Ornithodoros kelleyi Cooley and Kohls (Arachnida: Ixodida: Argasidae) and eastern bat bug Cimex adjunctus Barber (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cimicidae) were collected from houses in Greene County, Missouri, that were previously infested by bats. Additional specimens of C. adjunctus were taken from a live big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois)) in Greene County and an evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis (Rafinesque)) in Webster County, Missouri. These records constitute only the third report of each species from the state, and the first from those counties. Distributional and host data for both species are summarized and presented. Distribution, feeding habits, and limited association with human habitations confer a low disease vector potential on both ectoparasites.