Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa. XXVII. Ticks on helmeted guineafowls in the eastern Cape Province and eastern Transvaal Lowveld

Abstract

Seventy-six helmeted guineafowls (Numida meleagris) were shot in the Andries Vosloo Kudu Reserve and on an adjacent farm in the eastern Cape Province during the period May 1985 to January 1987 and their tick burdens determined. A total of 10 ixodid tick species were recovered, of which Amblyomma hebraeum, Amblyomma marmoreum and Haemaphysalis silacea were the most abundant. The seasonal abundances of these 3 species and of Hyalomma marginatum rufipes were ascertained. A marked difference between the total number of A. hebraeum recovered from the birds in the reserve and those on the farm is ascribed to the treatment of domestic stock on the farm with an acaricide. The tick burdens of 118 helmeted guineafowls, shot in the southern part of the Kruger National Park, eastern Transvaal Lowveld, from August 1988 to August 1990, were also determined. Ten ixodid tick species and the larvae of an argasid species were recovered. A. hebraeum, A. marmoreum and the Argas sp. were the most abundant and their seasonal abundances and that of Rhipicephalus zambeziensis were determined. Only 2 of the 54 659 ixodid ticks recovered from the birds at the 3 localities were adults and the presence of these is ascribed to accidental infestations.