Field tests of the response of female Amblyomma variegatum (Acari:Ixodidae) to the synthetic aggregation-attachment pheromone and its components.

Fifty percent of an Amblyomma variegatum female population were able to find upwind-positioned targets containing the synthetic aggregation-attachment pheromone of this species or the pheromone component o-nitrophenol alone. The ticks were not attracted to the other components of the pheromone: methyl-salicylate and pelargonic acid. The mean time required for the ticks to reach a target at 1 m from the starting point was 3 min and 20 s.