Biological and ecological aspects of hard ticks

Biological and ecological aspects of hard ticks

Leonardo Alberto Ríos-Osorio, Diana Nayibe Polanco Echeverry

Hard ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasites of Ixodidae family. These mites have been always considered disrupting agents of livestock systems, where they are recognized as the cause of economic and production losses. However, their ecological role is important for the dynamic equilibrium of the production systems bovine meat or milk. Knowing their biolog y and ecolog y can shed light on the sanitary decisions made in relation to these organisms. This review article presents issues related to classification, characteristics, and life cycle of hard ticks and relations vector-parasite-host. In addition, it addresses the control of ectoparasites on conventional livestock systems and the implica-tions that these models of intervention might have on agro-ecosystem.

2016

Cattle, Disease control, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, ectoparasites

10.21930/rcta.vol17_num1_art:463

Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria

Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (Corpoica)

Agriculture (General), Agriculture, Animal culture