Ixodes (Afrixodes) bakeri Authur & Cliford, 1961 (Acarina : Ixodidae): description of the male and immature stages from rodents and insectivores and notes on its biology in South Africa

Abstract

The male, nymph and larva of Ixodes (A.) bakeri are described and illustrated with line drawings and scanning electron microscope photographs. This species was originally described from 1 female from Otomys sp., Nyika Plateau, Malawi. The present material consists of 28 collections from insectivores and 19 collections from rodents, Van Riebeeck Nature Reserve, Transvaal, plus 1 collection from a rodent in the Jonkershoek Valley, Cape Province, Republic of South Africa. Its biology in South Africa is also discussed.