176
Some Methods of Feeding Ticks
Morton's capsules in a modified form were found
very useful.
The original Morton's capsules are not sufficient-
ly strong and are suitable for use only on small
animals, such as rabbits. With bigger animals,
they are liable to be damaged or crushed, and in
such cases, capsules of tin or iron were used.
These were three inches in diameter and half an
inch deep with a rim of about 1/4 inch all round.
A. central area, one inch in diameter from the roof
of the capsule, was removed and a piece of fine-
mesh copper wire gauze was soldered to this area to
admit air for the ticks to breathe. A flat area was
selected on the body of the host (the quarters or
the loins were found suitable for this purpose)
and the hairs thereon were close clipped. A
circular piece of linen, slightly smaller in size than
the casule, was fixed on the part with a solution
of celloidin of a suitable consistency, a little open-
ing being left to introduce the parasites. The
ticks to be fed were collected in a thick agglutina-
tion tube and the latter inserted through the open-
ing. A few taps on the tube caused the parasites
to roll down in the form of a ball under the linen
cover, and the opening was then closed with celloi-
din solution. The rim of the capsule which had
been previously coated with Chatterton's Compound
was now held over a spirit lamp till this substance
melted and the capsule was then fixed over the
linen piece. By using a neck-rack, the animal was
prevented from tampering with the capsule. The
advantage of this method of feeding ticks is that
the tin capsule can be removed every day and the
ticks which are engorged drop off in the capsule
and are removed without any difficulty. The
capsule can be easily fixed and removed daily
till all the ticks are fully fed, thus enabling the
worker to obtain full data concerning the feeding
time of the ticks.
The same method, with a little modification,
can be used for feeding ticks on dogs and goats.
Wooden capsules are more convenient for this
purpose than those made of iron. The capsules
are about two inches in diameter and a quarter
of an inch in depth and in the thickness of the
wall. Small holes are bored in the roof to admit
air for the ticks to breathe. The process of ap-
plying the parasites and fixing the capsule is the
same as that described in the case of cattle.
However, when the host employed is a dog, it has
to be kept under more effective control. This is
achieved by placing a leather or card-board collar
round its neck and by using a coat, specially pre-
pared for preventing the animal from scratching
off the capsule.
For feeding Argasid ticks on rabbits the follow-
ing method has proved convenient. The rabbit
is tied on a board with a neck collar and a small
area on its abdomen is shaved. The ticks to be
fed are collected in a small petri dish which is
inverted on the area and kept pressed against the
abdomen with a bandage tied over the petri dish.
The use of the bandage also provides the ticks with
the necessary darkness in which they attach and
reed. After about half an hour, the bandage is
removed and the engorged ticks collected.
For feeding Argas persicus ticks (which, in the
adult stage, are nocturnal feeders) on fowls, a jar
of fairly large capacity has been found convenient.
A square glass jar, such as is used for storing sul-
phuric acid, serves the purpose well. The lid of
the jar is made of tin with a central area of about
three inch diameter fitted with fine copper gauze
to admit air. A wooden or iron platform, about
two inches high, with holes all over it, is placed
at the bottom of the jar. The fowl, with its head
enclosed in a cloth bag, is placed on the platform
along with the ticks; and the jar is closed and left-
over night. The engorged ticks drop off the host
and are easily collected the following morning*.
Ticks are best maintained during their non-
parasitic period in incubators at 22°-26°C. For
providing humidity which is essential for the nor-
mal growth of ticks, a glass of water may be kept
inside the incubators. Individual ticks are kept
in entomological specimen tubes with strips of
filter paper to give the ticks a hiding place and, at
the same time, to absorb their excretions.
The mouth of the tube is closed with a piece of
muslin to prevent the escape of the Ticks and this
also allows them a sufficiency of air. An identity
card is attached to each tube and all observations
are noted on the card.
SUMMARY
The method of feeding ticks on large animals,
such as bullocks, by means of ear and scrotum
bags and similar other appliances, was found to
be unsatisfactory. For this purpose the use of a
modified Morton capsule made of iron or tin
proved very useful. The use of similar capsules
made of wood with holes in the roof gave equally
good results in feeding ticks on dogs and goats.
The parasites to be fed are first enclosed under a
circular piece of linen stuck with celloidin solution
to a flat part of the body of the host, after the hairs
thereon have been closely clipped. The capsule
is then fixed over it by means of Chatterton's
Compound. It may be daily removed, any en-
gorged ticks may be collected and the capsule
refixed. Thus, the advantage of this method
over the old methods is that the daily progress of
the parasites can be studied and, at the termination
of each feed, the full number of the parasites can be
recovered without difficulty.
*The methods described above for feeding ticks on
dogs and fowls were already in use at the Mukteswar
Institute at the time the writer undertook these studios