Dr. Murai Éva - Gubányi András szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 29-30. (Budapest, 1997)

Table 2 Sex ratio of tick species Tick species Total Within species F M F M Ixodes ricinus 16.97 12.10 58.39 41.61 Haemaphysalis punctata 10.78 4.28 71.57 28.43 Haemaphysalis sulcata 10.93 22.84 32.36 67.64 Haemaphysalis inermis 0.39 0.03 92.86 7.14 Rhipicephalus bursa 1.50 3.17 32.05 67.95 Rhipicephalus sanguineus 2.28 0.78 74.51 25.49 Dermacentor marginatus 8.86 4.61 65.78 34.22 Dermacentor pictus 0.24 0.24 50.00 50.00 TOTAL: 51.95 48.05 F: females; M: males of the genus Dermacentor - D. marginatus and D. pictus - at 10.02 °C temperature, 75% relative humidity, i.e. in early spring at the beginning of the rainy season (monthly mean precipitation: 37.62 mm). The most extensive precipitation was recorded from mid-May to mid-June when a period with little rain until the end of summer started. Thus, May - with its temperature of 14.25 °C, relative humidity of 76.5%, and 78.37 mm precipitation - was the month of the population peak for a species which requires higher relative humidity, i.e. Ixodes ricinus, while two species of the genus Rhipicephalus - R. bursa and R. sanguineus - reached their maximum abundance in June, decreasing gradually until August, and disappearing completely in September and October. The autumn population peak in September at a temperature of 13.95 °C, 78.5%> relative humidity and 63 mm precipitation, and in October (19.4 °C temperature, 79%» relative humidity and 37.41 mm precipitation) only occurred for four species: Ixodes ricinus and the three species of the genus Haemaphysalis - H. sulcata, H. punctata and H. inermis -, while the two species of the genus Dermacentor - D. marginatus and D. pictus - were rarely encountered. The distribution of ticks found in West Serbia in 1989-1990 (Table 2) indicated that males of the species Haemaphysalis sulcata were predominant (22.84%), followed by females and males of Ixodes ricinus (16.97% and 12.10%, respectively). Haemaphysalis sulcata females came immediately after males of the species Ixodes ricinus with an abundance of 10.93%). They were followed by females of the species Haemaphysalis punctata and Dermacentor marginatus (occupying the third and the fourth place) with an abundance of 10.78% and 8.86%o, respectively. The abundance of Haemaphysalis inermis was 0.03%) for males and 0.39% for females. Out of the total number of ticks collected, 51.95% were females and 48.05%> were males. Moreover, the sex ratio within individual species showed a higher number of females in five species (Ixodes ricinus, Haemaphysalis punctata, Haemaphysalis inermis, Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Dermacentor marginatus), a higher number of males in two species (Rhipicephalus bursa and Haemaphysalis sulcata), and an equal number of ticks of the two sexes in one species, Dermacentor pictus (Table 2).