Abstract:
A bioassay was developed which enabled the detection of the pheromones of the boot tick (Amblyomma hebraeum Koch) within 2 hours with a reproducibility of 82 ± 13%. Dried, solvent extracted ticks were glued onto the shaved backs of rabbits. Those ticks to which pheromone extract was subsequently applied strongly attracted females of the same species.
In a 2-way choice test a cork disc impregnated with pheromone extract was even more attractive to female ticks than a treated dried tick.