IXODID TICKS AND OTHER ECTOPARASITES OF WILD UNGULATES IN SWAZILAND -REGIONAL, HOST AND SEASONAL PATTERNS

Ixodid ticks and other ectoparasites were collected from impala (Aepyc eros melampus), blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), kudu (Tragela phus strepsiceros), common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) and warthog (Ph acochoerus aethiopicus) in the Mlawula-Mbuluzi-Simunye Nature Reserve and Protected Area complex and Hlane Wildlife Sanctuary in the Swazila nd lowveld, and from blue wildebeest and warthog in Malolotja Nature R eserve in the highveld from October 1985 to August 1986. The most comm only collected ticks were Amblyosomma hebraeum, Boophilus decoloratus, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, R. evertsi evertsi, R. maculatus, R. mu ehlensi and R. simus. The diversity and intensity of infestation were greater in the lowveld, where the ectoparasite community was similar t o that reported from these host species in the eastern Transvaal lowve ld and Kwazulu/Natal. A. hebraeum was collected throughout the year, b ut the largest samples were in October and November when the animals w ere in poor condition. The seasonal occurrence of R. appendiculatus ad ults on impala was later than that reported for other host species, po ssibly owing to seasonal changes in habitat use. Seasonal changes in h abitat use and temperature effects pn pre-oviposition and development of the eggs may have caused the seasonal patterns in the occurrence of B. decoloratus.