Oviposition and larval dispersal of Ixodes dammini (Acari: Ixodidae)

Seven of 10 fall-fed female Ixodes dammini Spielman, Clifford, Piesman, & Corwin, placed on the ground in Lyme, Conn., within 18-cm-diameter rings in November 1988, survived the winter and laid eggs during the first weeks of May. The female ticks overwintered within the grass mat or in the crevices of the soil under the leaf litter. Two of the females had moved as far as the metal rim (approximately 9 cm) sometime in November or December. Three females moved from their winter sites to other locations within the confines of the ring during March and April. One had moved as far as the metal ring. Larvae hatched from eggs in late June or in July and remained clustered on the egg mass for 1-2 wk until they began to disperse in mid-July or early August, depending upon their location. The majority of larvae that were recovered (86.6%) were found within 40 cm of the egg mass, but one was recovered at a distance of approximately 205 cm. Best fits to the general dispersal equation N = exp (a + bXc) for values of c less than 2 indicated a tendency for larval aggregation around the oviposition site. Larvae of I. dammini appear to use an ambush type host-seeking strategy and few actively disperse beyond 1-2 m.