Regulation of feeding and ovipositional success ofAmblyomma americanum ticks

Summary Duration of the adult femaleAmblyomma americanum feeding period was found to be dependent upon male receptiveness to mating, which was in turn dependent upon when males were placed with females. Prolonging the time to mating by 5 days had no effect on female engorgement weight or length of the preovipositional period, but prolonging mating by 10 days substantially decreased the number of ovipositing females and ablated egg viability. In the absence of males, females were severely stunted in size and had to be forcibly removed from the host.Supported in part by grants from the United States Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health No. AI 17555, RR 05443, and from the Rockefeller Foundation.