Effect Of Temperature On Hyalomma (Hyalomma) Impeltatum Schulze And Schlottke (Ixodoidea: Ixodidae)

Abstract

The effect of 21, 25, 29 and 34°C on developmental period duration, weight of different stages in the life cycle and conversion efficiency in Hyalomma (H.) impeltatum Schuize and Schlottke was investigated at 75% relative humidity. Generally, egg incubation, larval and nymphal premolting and female preoviposition and oviposition periods were prolonged with the decrease in temperature. However, the egg incubation and preoviposition periods were the most greatly affected. Larval, nymphal and female feeding periods were not affected by temperature. Also, the percentage loss in weight by larvae before feeding and during molting and by nymphs and females before feeding was not affected by temperature but nymphal loss in weight during molting was greater at 34°C than at 21-29"C. Fifty percent of the egg masses were deposited within 7.9, 6.8, 4.6 and 4.2 days, and 90% within 20.0, 18.0, 11.6 and 9.3 days at the tested temperatures, respectively. The conversion efficiency of female weight to egg mass weight was not affected by temperature. The results were discussed in relation to those obtained for other ixodid ticks.