Feeding electrograms and fluid uptake measurements of cattle tick Boophilus microplus attached on artificial membranes

Waladde S. M., Kemp D. H. and Rice M. J. 1979. Feeding electrograms and fluid uptake measurements of cattle tick Boophilus microplus attached on artificial membranes. International Journal for Parasitology9: 89–95. Newly moulted adult females of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus readily attach on a modified Baudruche membrane. Apparatus design permits the media offered below the membrane to be kept at 37°C and to be changed easily. Patterns of feeding activity were recorded within 2 h of placing the ticks on the membrane by monitoring the changes in electrical resistance between a tick and the medium with a high input impedance electric circuit. Differences in patterns of sucking and salivation were related to the chemical composition of media presented below the membrane. These observations suggest that the newly discovered cheliceral taste receptors of B. microplus are able to mediate changes in feeding patterns in response to stimulation by different chemical solutions in the feeding lesion. Incorporation of phosphorus-32 into the medium allows the volume ingested by ticks to be measured. The techniques described here facilitate the study of host factors that influence attachment, engorgement and detachment of the cattle tick.