In search of the Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus in the western-central regions of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract The southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus , is an economically important tick that parasitises cattle and is found on other host species if they graze with cattle. The R. ( B. ) microplus is a highly adapted tick species prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In Africa, it has expanded its range and was reported to supersede the native tick, R. ( B. ) decoloratus. The objective of the study was to determine the distribution of R. ( B. ) microplus under different ecological zones in the western-central regions of Eastern Cape Province. Engorged adult blue ticks were collected monthly from 360 randomly selected cattle and free living ticks from six replicate drags of the vegetation over a period of 1 year at Bedford Dry Grassland (BDG), Kowie Thicket (KT) and Bhisho Thornveld (BT). A special attention was paid to the lower perineum, neck, dewlap and ventral body parts which are the preferred sites for blue ticks during sampling. In this study, 9 species of ticks which grouped under 5 genera were identified. The identified species of ticks were Amblyomma hebraeum, Haemaphysalis elliptica, Hyalomma rufipes, Ixodes pilosus, R. ( B. ) decoloratus, R. appendiculatus, R. evertsi evertsi, R. follis and R. simus. Only adult R. ( B. ) decoloratus (n = 8090) ticks were collected from cattle between April 2016 and March 2017. A total of 4382 females and 3708 males of R. ( B. ) decoloratus were recovered during the survey. Of the ticks (n = 2885) collected from the vegetation, R. ( B. ) decoloratus was the most abundant species with a relative prevalence of 58.16%, followed by R. appendiculatus (18.37%) and R. evertsi evertsi (16.90%). Least abundant ticks were H. rufipes (2.98%) , A. hebraeum (2.46%) , H. elliptica (0.38%) , R. follis (0.34%) , I. pilosus (0.24%) and R. simus (0.17%). The distribution of R. ( B. ) decoloratus ticks differ significantly ( P P R. ( B. ) decoloratus were collected in KT during summer season (1.39 ± 0.063 females and 1.30 ± 0.063 males) compared to other vegetation types. The R. ( B. ) decoloratus larvae were significantly higher ( P R. ( B. ) microplus was not found in the present study, signifying that it is not yet established in western-central regions of the Eastern Cape Province and as such, continuous monitoring would be advisable.