Abstract:
The invasive character of Rhipicephalus microplus was observed in Benin, the
second West-African country from which this ticks species has been collected after the
initial confirmed record in Ivory Coast in 2007. A cross-sectional study was carried out in
the Department of Mono to examine the presence of the tick R. microplus. The survey
covered 9 herds (villages) in an agro-ecological zone inhabited by agro-pastoralists,
including the State Farm of Kpinnou that imported Girolando cattle from Brazil. Almost
800 ticks were sampled from 36 cattle, on average four cattle per village. The morphological
identification revealed ticks of two different genera: Rhipicephalus and Amblyomma.
Rhipicephalus microplus was the only representative of the species previously
known as Boophilus or blue ticks. Its taxonomic identity was confirmed molecularly by
PCR–RFLP. A comparison was made with the situation of R. microplus in Brazil.
