Literature Review on O. coriaceus
Introduction |
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We believe our vector to be a soft tick known as Ornithodoros coriaceus, which is a part of the Argasidae family. Soft ticks can be differentiated from hard ticks by their differences in appearance. In contrast to hard ticks, the mouthparts of soft ticks cannot be readily seen when looking at them from above (Vredevoe 2016). Other names for this organism include the Pajaroello tick, from the Spanish words “paja,” meaning straw, and “huello,” meaning the undersurface of a roof, as well as Pajahuello, the leather or greyback tick. In Mexico, this tick is known as the Talaja tick (Failing 1972). Ornithodoros coriaceus has veterinary significance in that it is a known vector of Equine Bovine Abortion, or EBA, which affects cattle and can result in late-term abortions (Teglas et al 2005). However, this tick may also bite people, and those that are outdoors in California and Mexico are most likely to encounter this tick and experience what has been described as a painful bite. In rare cases, people may have severe reactions to the bite. In these instances, the symptoms can present quickly after the bite and include pain, edema, and erythema. Afterwards, tissue necrosis and ulcers that take a long time to heal may appear (Failing 1972). |
Habitat and Geographical Range |
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Feeding |
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O. coriaceus feeds on a wide range of hosts including humans, birds, cattle, and deer. Although O. coriaceus will feed on many species of mammal in a laboratory, it prefers to feed on deer and cattle (Smith 1944). Humans are actually accidental hosts for this particular species of tick, with most instances of recorded tick bites occurring in people that participate in activities that are staged outside (Furman and Loomis 1984). Birds are the vertebrate hosts which serve to maintain the tick species in high numbers. This species feeds for short periods of time, around an hour, and takes multiple blood meals between life stages on its host. O. coriaceus nymphs and adults typically feed at temperatures between 37-39 °C. In humans, they typically attract to the lower regions or the body, mainly the legs (Hokama, 1987). Unlike other developmental stages, during the larval stage, it remains attached for a long period of time. The adult ticks remain geographically constrained, meaning they wait in bedding sites for their hosts instead of actively traveling long distances to find new hosts (Telgas 2011). Through blood meals, many pathogens are transstadially transmitted from stage to stage via eggs and in coxal fluid (Lane 1988). |
Mating & Life Cycle |
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All stages of life of the Ornithodoros coriaceus tick spend the majority of time in close proximity to their preferential hosts until they are ready to feed. Feeding duration in this species of tick can last anywhere from eight minutes to over an hour and a half in larvae and nymphs and from five to fifty minutes in adults (Furman and Loomis 1984). In addition, larvae can feed on hosts for about nine days at a time (Furman and Loomis 1984). After feeding to satiation, the adult ticks mate with one another off of the host anywhere from one day to three months after their last blood meal was taken (Smith 1944). The adult female then seeks to deposit her eggs just under the first layer of leaves in a given forest after she is satisfied with her blood meal and has accumulated the energy for such an act (Teglas 2005). This deposition of eggs has been observed to take anywhere from two weeks to seven months after observed mating in this species (Smith 1944).
After the eggs hatch and the larvae enter the world, they pursue a host to feed on and feed for ten-fourteen days before molting to the first nymphal stage (Teglas 2005). The tick then undergoes from three to seven nymphal stages/molts before reaching adulthood (Smith 1944). The overall life cycle of the Ornithodoros coriaceus tick from egg to adult typically takes over a year to complete (Furman and Loomis 1984). In terms of the overall lifespan of O. coriaceus, adult ticks in the fed state have been observed as being able to survive anywhere from eight months to almost four years for a male and from thirteen months to over five years for female ticks (Smith 1944). In adult ticks that survived without a blood meal, the observed lifespans were expectedly shorter and were noted to be only about nine months in both sexes (Smith 1944). |
Primary:
Hokama, Y., and J. A. Howarth. 1977. Dry-Ice (Co2) Trap for Efficient Field Collection of Ornithodoros coriaceus (Acarina: Argasidae). Journal of Medical Entomology. 13:627-628.
Lane R.S., Manweiler S.A. 1988. Borrelia coriaceae in its tick vector, Ornithodoros coriaceus (Acari: Argasidae), with emphasis on transstadial and transovarial infection. J. Med. Entomol. 25: 172-177.
Smith, C. N. 1944. The Life History of the Tick Ornithodoros coriaceus Koch (Argasidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 37: 325–335.
Teglas, M.B., Drazenovich, N.L., Stott, J., and Foley, J.E. 2006. The geographic distribution of the putative agent of epizootic bovine abortion in the tick vector, Ornithodoros coriaceus. Veterinary Parasitology. 140 (3-4): 327-333.
Teglas, M.B., May, B., Crosbie, P.R., Stephens, M.R., and Boyce, W.M. 2005. Genetic Structure of the Tick Ornithodoros coriaceus (Acari: Argasidae) in California, Nevada, and Oregon. Journal of Medical Entomology. 42(3): 247-253.
Hokama, Y, Lane, R.S., Howarth, J.A. 1987. Maintenance of Adult and Nymphal Ornithodoros coriaceus (Acari :Argasidae ) by Artificial Feeding Through a Parafilm Membrane. J. Med. Entomol. 24: 319-313.
Secondary:
Failing, R.M., Lyon, C.B., McKittrick, J.E. 1972. The Pajaroello Tick Bite- The Frightening Folklore and the Mild Disease. Calif Med. 116:16-19.
Furman, D.P., Loomis, E.C. 1984. The ticks of California (Acari: Ixodida). Bulletin of the California Insect Survey. 25:14–15.
Telgas M.B. Mapes S., Hodzic E., Nieto N.C. 2011. Co-infection of Ornithodoros coriaceus with the relapsing fever spirochete, Borrelia coriaceae, and the agent of epizootic bovine abortion. Med Vet Entomol. 25: 337–343.
Vredevoe, L. 2016. Background Information on the Biology of Ticks. University of California. http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/Faculty/Robert_B_Kimsey/Kimsey_Research/Tick_Biology/
Hokama, Y., and J. A. Howarth. 1977. Dry-Ice (Co2) Trap for Efficient Field Collection of Ornithodoros coriaceus (Acarina: Argasidae). Journal of Medical Entomology. 13:627-628.
Lane R.S., Manweiler S.A. 1988. Borrelia coriaceae in its tick vector, Ornithodoros coriaceus (Acari: Argasidae), with emphasis on transstadial and transovarial infection. J. Med. Entomol. 25: 172-177.
Smith, C. N. 1944. The Life History of the Tick Ornithodoros coriaceus Koch (Argasidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 37: 325–335.
Teglas, M.B., Drazenovich, N.L., Stott, J., and Foley, J.E. 2006. The geographic distribution of the putative agent of epizootic bovine abortion in the tick vector, Ornithodoros coriaceus. Veterinary Parasitology. 140 (3-4): 327-333.
Teglas, M.B., May, B., Crosbie, P.R., Stephens, M.R., and Boyce, W.M. 2005. Genetic Structure of the Tick Ornithodoros coriaceus (Acari: Argasidae) in California, Nevada, and Oregon. Journal of Medical Entomology. 42(3): 247-253.
Hokama, Y, Lane, R.S., Howarth, J.A. 1987. Maintenance of Adult and Nymphal Ornithodoros coriaceus (Acari :Argasidae ) by Artificial Feeding Through a Parafilm Membrane. J. Med. Entomol. 24: 319-313.
Secondary:
Failing, R.M., Lyon, C.B., McKittrick, J.E. 1972. The Pajaroello Tick Bite- The Frightening Folklore and the Mild Disease. Calif Med. 116:16-19.
Furman, D.P., Loomis, E.C. 1984. The ticks of California (Acari: Ixodida). Bulletin of the California Insect Survey. 25:14–15.
Telgas M.B. Mapes S., Hodzic E., Nieto N.C. 2011. Co-infection of Ornithodoros coriaceus with the relapsing fever spirochete, Borrelia coriaceae, and the agent of epizootic bovine abortion. Med Vet Entomol. 25: 337–343.
Vredevoe, L. 2016. Background Information on the Biology of Ticks. University of California. http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/Faculty/Robert_B_Kimsey/Kimsey_Research/Tick_Biology/