Host-finding and host recognition of infective Ancylostoma caninum larvae

A. caninum larvae responded to environmental and host stimuli with four behavioral phases of host-finding. (1) Snake-like movement was stimulated by warmth and by defined vibrations of the substratum. (2) Waving behavior was a prerequisite for the passive change-over to dog hairs. It was stimulated by heat radiation and by the CO2 content, warmth, and humidity of an air stream. (3) Creeping direction: the larvae were attracted by heat in temperature gradients as weak as 0.04 degrees C mm-1 and by dog hydrophilic skin surface extracts, but not by skin lipids or serum. (4) Penetration into agar was stimulated by heat, dog hydrophilic skin fraction, and dog serum. The effective component of serum had a molecular weight of between 5000 and 30,000 and proved to be a protein, since it lost its effectiveness after digestion with proteinases. Dog saliva, urine, milk, and various pure dog serum components did not stimulate penetration. A. caninum larvae were able to penetrate mouse skin repeatedly, but they did not follow the tracks of previously penetrated larvae in agar.