Abstract:
The distributions of endemic tick vector species as well as the presence of species not endemic to
Free State Province, South Africa, were determined during surveys or opportunistic collections
from livestock, wildlife and vegetation. Amongst endemic ticks, the presence of Rhipicephalus
appendiculatus was confirmed in the north of the province, whilst Rhipicephalus decoloratus was
collected at 31 localities mostly in the centre and east, and Ixodes rubicundus at 11 localities
in the south, south-west and centre of the province. Amongst the non-endemic species adult
Amblyomma hebraeum were collected from white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) on four
privately owned farms, whilst the adults of Rhipicephalus microplus were collected from cattle
and a larva from vegetation at four localities in the east of the province. The collection of
Rhipicephalus evertsi mimeticus from a sheep in the west of the province is the second record
of its presence in the Free State, whereas the presence of Haemaphysalis silacea on helmeted
guineafowl (Numida meleagris) and vegetation in the centre of the province represents a first
record for this species in the Free State. The first collection of the argasid tick, Ornithodoros
savignyi, in the Free State was made from a domestic cow and from soil in the west of the
province. The localities at which the ticks were collected have been plotted and the ticks’ role
in the transmission or cause of disease in domestic livestock and wildlife is discussed.
