Species richness and adaptation of the invasive cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) on camps grazed by sheep in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

The seasonal dynamics and distribution of ticks play a pivotal role in the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases. The objective of this study was to establish the seasonal abundance and species richness of questing ixodid ticks on Amathole Montane Grassland camps grazed by sheep. Ticks questing for hosts were collected monthly for a period of three years by dragging flannel strips attached to a wooden spar over the vegetation. At each occasion, six replicate drag-samples were made in camps grazed by sheep. Of the questing ticks (n = 14 891) collected from the vegetation, the most abundant larvae were those of Rhipicephalus microplus (95.04%) followed by Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (2.32%), Rhipicephalus evertsi (1.56%), Rhipicephalus decoloratus (1.03%), Rhipicephalus simus (0.03) and Amblyomma hebraeum (0.02%). Comparing the two Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) spp., R. microplus (98.9%) outcompete the indigenous tick, R. decoloratus (1.1%). The R. microplus larvae were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in 2015 (2.11±0.108), 2016 (2.02 ± 0.076) and 2017 (1.94±0.075) during spring than any other season. There were no significant differences (P ˃ 0.05) from R. appendiculatus questing ticks collected in autumn (0.27±0.007; 0.30±0.052) and spring (0.33±0.007; 0.20±0.052) for 2015 and 2016, respectively. The study showed that the cattle tick, R. microplus adapted very well on host species, in this case sheep, and encroached to areas that were too cold for its adaptation.