The accumulation and utilization of food reserves by the adult female cattle tick, Boophilus microplus (Canestrini)

Abstract

Changes in water content and cuticle weight during adult parasitic life of B. microplus, and the manner in which water and dry matter are utilized for egg production, suggest that capacity for cuticle growth, and thus for distension, determines water content in relation to body weight, and this in turn fecundity of the female. Figures for Australian B. microplus are compared with those for this species in Japan, where higher average engorged weight, cuticle weight, percentage water content, and numbers of eggs laid have been reported.