[Habitat preferences of the common tick Ixodes ricinus L. in Lublin region]

A study was conducted on habitat preferences of the common tick Ixodes ricinus.

Eleven habitats were distinguished within the administrative borders of the city of Lublin as well as in the Gułowskie Forests and the Kozłowieckie Forests (Lublin voivodeship). They included meadows and pastures, thickets, poletimber woods, dry pine forests, mesic pine forests, mixed forests, mixed woods, deciduous woods, city parks, suburban wooded areas, and wasteland within the administrative borders of the city. In all of these habitats, a total of 61 one-hour flaggings were carried out. The mean number of the sampled specimens was regarded as the relative abundance of ticks in a given habitat.

In the natural environments, the highest tick density was observed in mesic pine forests, mixed forests, and thickets. A relatively low abundance was found in deciduous woods, and the lowest abundance--in poletimber woods and dry pine forests (Table 1). It was demonstrated that the abundance of the parasites is determined by the capacity to maintain appropriate humidity of the environment throughout the period of their occurrence, and not by the type of vegetation. This may have been the reason behind similar abundance of ticks in meadows and deciduous woods (Tables 1 and 2). In Lublin, rare ticks were collected only on the outskirts of the urban zone and--exceptionally--in the wasteland. In typically urban parks, no parasites were found.