Behavior of Ticks
Behaviorist J. v. Uexküll described the behavior of ticks in
1934 as follows:
"The way to its watch-tower, the eyless animal finds with the help
of a general sense of light in its skin. An approach of prey is revaled
to the blindand deaf highwayman by its sense of smell. The smell of butteric
acid, that streams from the sweat glands of mammals, is the signal for
the tick to plung down. If it falls on something warm, which is betrayed
to it by its sense of temperature, it has reached its prey, the warm-blooded
animal, and all that remeins to do is to find a possibly hairless spot,
with the aid of itts sense of touch, to bore its haed into the skin of
its prey. Now it slowly pumps a stream of warm blood into itself........
all that remains to do is to let itself fall onto the ground, lay its eggs
and die."(J.v.Uexküll: Streifzüge durch
die Umwelt von Tieren und Menschen, Rowohlt, Hamburg, 1956)
From the report we can gather that the behavior of the ticks, when seeking a host, is genetically dertermined. Specific smell-,temperature and touch-stumuli are necessary to trigger the behavior. Nowadays we know the corresponding sense of the tick. It is called the Hallersche Organ and is located in the feet of the first pair legs. based on the described behavior we have developed a ticktrap in order to check the occurence of ticks in endangered areas