[Some biological features of Hyalomma marginatum in the laboratory]

This study has been planned to investigate some biological features of Hyalomma marginatum, which is one of the important vectors in the world and in our country.

The study started with the adult H. marginatum which were collected from cattle in the field and attempts were made for these to be adapted to the laboratory by breeding in the laboratory throughout a generation. Unfed adult ticks and unfed larvae were bred on the rabbit ear while unfed nymphs were bred on the calf ear. The biologic development stages of this tick kind, except for sucking blood stage, passed in an incubator which was at a temperature of 28°C and 85% relative humidity, while the unfed active stages passed in an incubator which was at 18°C and 85% relative humidity to conserve for a long time.

Unfed females on rabbits were full and fell in approximately 15 days, began to ovulate 20.5 days later and ovulated for 16 days. The larvae which hatched out approximately 29 days later became active in 8.5 days. These larvae sucked blood from rabbits for 14.5 days and abandoned these animals as full nymphs. Unfed adult ticks, which existed as a result of these nymphs casting off their skin in approximately 26 days, became active by completing their cutinization in approximately 10 days.

At the end of the study, it was determined that H. marginatum showed 2 different behaviors in rabbits. According to this, the total life cycle in the laboratory environment changed by between 97 and 182 days and lasted approximately 138.5 days.