Evaluation of an in vitro method to measure behavioural diapause in the tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (Acarina: Ixodidae) in the laboratory.

A new method has been developed to investigate behavioural diapause in adult Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks. It is based on a system of gauze columns in which the activity of the ticks can be monitored in the laboratory. An experiment was conducted, involving different photoperiodic conditions during the nymph-to-adult moulting and pre-questing periods, with the aim of comparing the results obtained by the in vitro method with those of the standard in vivo method. Comparable results were obtained with both methods.