Birds disperse ixodid (Acari : Ixodidae) and Borrelia burgdorferi-infectedticks in Canada

A total of 152 ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) consisting of nine species wa s collected from 82 passerine birds (33 species) in 14 locations in Canada from 1996 to 2000. The Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson , Schmidt, Hyde, Steigerwaldt & Brenner was cultured from the nymph of a bl acklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, that had been removed from a common yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas L., from Bon Portage Island, Nova Scotia. As a result of bird movement, a nymphal I. scapularis removed from a Swains on's thrush, Catharus ustulatus incanus (Godfrey), at Slave Lake, Alberta, during spring migration becomes the new, most western and northern record o f this tick species in Canada. Amblyomma longirostre Koch,Amblyomma sabaner ae Stoll, and Ixodes baergi Cooley & Kohls are reported for the first time in Canada. Similarly, Amblyomma americanum L., Amblyomma maculatum Koch, an d Ixodes muris Bishopp & Smith are reported for the first time on birds in Canada. After removal of an I. muris gravid female from a song sparrow, Mel ospiza melodia Wilson, at St. Andrews, New Brunswick, eggs were laid, which developed into larvae, and this new tick-host record demonstrates that bir ds have the potential to start a new tick population. We conclude that pass erine birds disperse several species of ixodid ticks in Canada, and during spring migration translocate ticks from the United States, and Central and South America, some of which are infected with B. burgdorferi.