SOME FACTORS AFFECTING INFESTATION OF WHITE-TAILED DEER BY BLACKLEGGED TICKS AND WINTER TICKS (ACARI, IXODIDAE) IN SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI

A total of 5,669 ticks of 4 species was collected from 515 hunter kill ed, white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmerman), in southeas tern Missouri from 1993 through 1995. The American dog tick, Dermacent or variabilis (Say) (4 adults), the lone star tick, Amblyomma american um (L.) (57 adults, 2 nymphs), the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis (Say) (3,120 adults), and the winter tick, Dermacentor albipictus (Pa ckard) (2,059 adults, 436 nymphs, 1 larva) were collected. Patterns of adult D. albipictus and I. scapularies infesting deer were analyzed w ith respect to upland versus lowland habitat, county, and host sex. Pr evalence infestation prevalence was recorded for this tick on deer fro m upland than from lowland habitats. Mean intensities for D. albipictu s were not significantly different between counties. Prevalence and me an intensity of infestation for I. scapularis were significantly highe r on deer from uplands than lowlands and on bucks than does; mean inte nsities also differed between counties for this tick. Because adjacent populations, as well as the sea of the host, can differ in infestatio n rates, differences between local populations of I. scapularis should be recognized to optimize tick surveys and population models.