No distributional association between the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) and plant surface area

Abstract

The questing height of the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann was studied on the plant species Solidago altissima L., Pteridium aquilinum Kuhn, Miscanthus sinensis Anderss, and Pleioblastus chino Makino in an abandoned rice field and in an ume (Japanese Apricot) orchard in a forest. On all plant species, the vertical distribution of tick adults and nymphs was not significantly correlated with the distribution of plant surface area. This result suggests that the questing height of this tick is related to the body height of its main animal host, the sika deer.