Ixodid ticks of Angora and Boer goats, grysbok, common duikers, kudus and scrub hares in Valley Bushveld in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

At monthly intervals from February 1983 to January 1984 two Angora goats, two Boer goats, one grysbok, Raphicerus melanotis, one common duiker, Sylvicapra grimmia, one greater kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros, and four scrub hares, Lepus saxatilis, were killed on a farm in Valley Bushveld in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa and examined for ticks. Seven ixodid tick species were collected, of which Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum followed by Amblyomma hebraeum and Rhipicephalus oculatus were the most numerous. Amblyomma hebraeum was mainly a parasite of the two goat breeds, with the Angora goats harbouring greater numbers than the Boer goats, while large numbers of R. glabroscutatum parasitized the goats and the antelopes. Rhipicephalus oculatus was nearly exclusively a parasite of scrub hares. The larvae of A. hebraeum were most numerous on goats from May to July, the nymphs from September to November and the adults from August to December and during February, while the immature stages of R. glabroscutatum were most numerous on these animals from April to July and the adults from August to December. Peak activity periods of the latter tick were somewhat longer on kudus than on goats; the immature stages were most numerous from January to August and the adults from July to February. The larvae of R. oculatus were most numerous on scrub hares from March to May, nymphs from September to November and adults from October to December.