Influence of hosts on the oviposition and hatching of engorged females Amblyomma cajennense sensu stricto (Acari: Ixodidae) with notes on new host records.

The parasite-host relationships of Amblyomma cajennense sensu stricto, one of the species of the Amblyomma cajennense complex that occurs in the state of Maranhão, are poorly known and are restricted to its association with horses and humans. This study evaluated, for the first time, the effect of hosts on the oviposition of A. cajennense engorged females, naturally collected from wild animals and humans, as well as those experimentally fed on cattle and highlights the importance of the relationship between A. cajennense and different hosts in maintaining tick populations in the Amazon biome. Females fed on horses and capybaras exhibited the highest egg production efficiency (> 90%) and high hatching rates (≥ 95%), whereas, females collected from zebras and zebroids showed lowest egg production efficiency (~ 70%). The experimental infestation on cattle resulted in low hatching rates and low reproductive efficiency. The record of parasitism in zebras, zebroids, and wildebeests is unprecedented. Additionally, the finding of a female feeding in a human in the present study is a matter of concern and needs to be further investigated because of a potential candidate of this tick in the transmission of the Rickettsia amblyommatis, an agent of uncertain pathogenicity.