Dr. Kassai Tibor - Dr. Murai Éva szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 6. (Budapest, 1973)

The degree of infestation and host preference by ticks of vertebrates in an area will determine their potential importance in maintaining natural foci of infection. The importance of vertebrates as hosts to the ticks will depend on the average seasonal total number of ticks per individual specimens for each species as well as on species population densities. Indirect correlation exists between the population density of hosts and tick-load.The tick-load for individual species would appear to be related to host size. Further, the tick-load on vertebrate hosts may be related to their home range. We have observed that more isolated wide-ranging yellow necked mouse and long-tailed fieldmouse acquires much more ticks than hosts which move (Fig. l). The higher infestation of male mice is also attributable to their greater mobility. For maintenance of virus and tick population in a natural focus only those populations of host are of importance,which coincide with the seasonal and spatial incidence of ticks. It is necessary to add that the significance of a given species as tickhost in different habitats may be quite different. Spatial coincidence of tick and host (ecological niche) comes here into consideration, e. g., the European mole in forests of Central Europe may be heavily infested with larvae and nymphs of I . riFig. 2: Relative incidence of larvae, nymphs and female imagoes of Ixodes ricinus on various host species. 2. ábra: Ixodes ricinus lárvák, nymphák és nőstény imágók viszonylagos előfordulása különféle gazdafajokon. L = larvae - lárvák; N = nypmhs - nymphák. • [~J = Small rodents and insectivores - Kisrágcsálók és rovarevők 0- Birds - Madarak [*~\ - Bigger rodents and insectivores - Nagytermetű rágcsálók és rovarevők ^jj = Free living ungulates - Vadon élő patások |~*~| = Carnivora - Ragadozók • = Reptilia - Hüllők P] = Grazing goats - Legelőn tartott kecskék