Editorial : Soft ticks as parasites and vectors

Abstract

Soft ticks are interesting ectoparasites due to their ecological habits and unique blood-feeding biology. The wide-ranging nature of research into these parasites is reflected in the diverse set of papers captured in this special issue. Fundamental questions are addressed in the 9 articles included in this Research Topic that focuses on ecology, tick-host interaction, host associations, geographic distribution, and microbial endosymbionts.