Effects Of Weather Factors And Hosts On The Questing Activity And Distribution Of Haemaphysalis Longicornis

Outdoor activities such as nature therapy have been becoming popular in China,and the number of people who travelling in the mountains has expanded year by year.How to avoid being bitten by ticks and infected tick-brone diseases had became a problem for scenic spots and people.Understanding the impact of weather factors on tick questing activity would help to carry out relevant prevention and management work.Therefore,this study was carried out in the typical forest land of Xiaowutaishan National Nature Reserve in western Beijing from 2017 to 2018.Donggou,Beigou and Tangjiachang,three sites were selected to investigate the population of dominant tick species in local——Haemaphysalis longicornis(Acari:Ixodidae)——by dragging method,meanwhile collected dates of climate factors.In order to explore the time variation of the annual population,the influence of weather factors on Haemaphysalis longicornis tick questing activity,and the diurnal questing activity of Haemaphysalis longicornis nymphs,and the intrinsic link between distribution of hard tick and host activity intensity.The results showed,1)the poplation of Haemaphysalis longicornis had a peak period of spring and autumn in local and was mainly in spring;2)A variety of weather factors can affect tick questing activity,which indirectly affected the probability and risk of tick-brone disease to human and animal.Tick was more active in warm and dry weather and its population was higher in spring.The coupling of two attributes was the causes of high incidence of invasion and bites of Haemaphysalis longicornis in spring in northern China;3)Standardized sampling time was the basis for studying hard tick ecology,because the diurnal questing activity of Haemaphysalis longicornis nymphs was strongly affected by temperature and dew-point temperature,which caused different number of samples at different sampling times;4)Haemaphysalis longicornis wrer aggregated at different scales in the forest.This distribution was affected by the number of hosts and the intensity of the activity.The population of tick was also large in areas with high host numbers and high activity intensityThis research studied the hard tick ecology,to understand the time dynamics of population of hard tick in surrounding Beijing forest area.Confirm that Weather factors can affect tick questing activity.And the population,spatial distribution were significantly correlated with host density and activity intensity.Provided a theoretical basis for hard tick and tick-brone disease ecology,And the same time,provided scientific guidelines for selecting suitable outdoor activities,reducing the probability of tick biting,and avoiding the risk of tick-brone disease.