Female African Ticks Gain Weight From Sex
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word, tick? My mind automatically flashes back to when I was younger. For example, if my mom knew that I was going to be playing outside in a grassy area she always reminded me to wear jeans or long pants with a long sleeve shirt. She wanted to make sure that I wouldn't get bitten by a tick and contract Lyme disease. Sound familiar? I thought so. But I bet that you've never thought about ticks and... sex?
Research conducted by Dr. Robert Kaufman has found that female ticks gain weight 100 times her original size after sex. Why is this? If female ticks wish to reproduce, they need to reach a certain size to lay their eggs, which virgin female ticks rarely accomplish. It's interesting to note that copulation between these particular African Ticks must occur on the host on which both the female and male feed. All the other species of ticks and blood-sucking insects usually copulate either before or after their meal, but African ticks are unique in the sense that copulation is not performed as a separate act.
Before copulation, the female tick will attach herself to the skin of the host on which she chooses as a meal and then feeds until she is ten times her own weight. This feeding process can take from six to ten days. After feeding, the female then copulates with a male and gains weight ten times the weight she has just obtained. In case you were wondering, female ticks will wait for weeks on the host that she has attached herself to, in hopes that a male will eventually find her and want to mate with her. So why is the female tick willing to wait for long periods of time to mate? It turns out that the male tick's seminal fluid contains two engorgement factor proteins that act as a signal to indicate to the female that engorgement has completed, so that she can finally lay her eggs.
Sometimes virgin female ticks will be groomed off of their hosts. If they have gained too much weight from feeding they will not attempt to reattach themselves to another host and continue feeding. However, if the virgin tick was able to remain small, it will most likely reattach itself to another host, continue to feed and wait until a male approaches her so that they may mate. Hence, it is ideal for a virgin female tick to remain small before mating so that the probability of her actually reproducing increases.
Kaufman's research will hopefully provide some insight into producing an anti-tick vaccine for pets and livestock. In fact, some of his findings have already seemed to suggest that mated ticks are unable to feed on a host that has been immunized against the engorgement factor proteins.
Posted by Luzviminda Maurillo (2)
Research conducted by Dr. Robert Kaufman has found that female ticks gain weight 100 times her original size after sex. Why is this? If female ticks wish to reproduce, they need to reach a certain size to lay their eggs, which virgin female ticks rarely accomplish. It's interesting to note that copulation between these particular African Ticks must occur on the host on which both the female and male feed. All the other species of ticks and blood-sucking insects usually copulate either before or after their meal, but African ticks are unique in the sense that copulation is not performed as a separate act.
Before copulation, the female tick will attach herself to the skin of the host on which she chooses as a meal and then feeds until she is ten times her own weight. This feeding process can take from six to ten days. After feeding, the female then copulates with a male and gains weight ten times the weight she has just obtained. In case you were wondering, female ticks will wait for weeks on the host that she has attached herself to, in hopes that a male will eventually find her and want to mate with her. So why is the female tick willing to wait for long periods of time to mate? It turns out that the male tick's seminal fluid contains two engorgement factor proteins that act as a signal to indicate to the female that engorgement has completed, so that she can finally lay her eggs.
Sometimes virgin female ticks will be groomed off of their hosts. If they have gained too much weight from feeding they will not attempt to reattach themselves to another host and continue feeding. However, if the virgin tick was able to remain small, it will most likely reattach itself to another host, continue to feed and wait until a male approaches her so that they may mate. Hence, it is ideal for a virgin female tick to remain small before mating so that the probability of her actually reproducing increases.
Kaufman's research will hopefully provide some insight into producing an anti-tick vaccine for pets and livestock. In fact, some of his findings have already seemed to suggest that mated ticks are unable to feed on a host that has been immunized against the engorgement factor proteins.
Posted by Luzviminda Maurillo (2)
posted by PWH @ 10:38 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
The fact that ticks expand, or ‘gain weight’ after having sex makes sense when considering they are preparing their bodies for reproduction. The seminal fluids that the male ticks contribute to the female to help engorge reminds me of insects that have lock and key mechanisms that allow them to only mate with insects of their kind. With female ticks not being able to lay eggs on hosts that have been vaccinated makes me wonder if the benefit to humans will mean the end to ticks. Interesting post, especially how it was worded, comparing the situation to females gaining weight.
Posted by amolina
Just yesterday while I was at home for the weekend, I pulled a few ticks off of my cat's neck. In fact there were two within 1 cm of each other. Do other ticks mate in this same way - by being in close vicinity prior to mating?
How would the male tick find the female tick on the animal? The last time I checked they move incredibly slowly.
Very interesting post. Not something you would think about everyday. It seems only natural for an organism to gain excess weight when ready to reproduce. But in this case of gaining 100 times her own body weight is insane. It interesting that she only gains 10 percent of her weight from feeding for six to ten days but then can achieve the extra size through the males hormones. I like the way amolina put it with the lock and key analogy. It seems like the only way to gain a mass like that is if the female mates and reproduces in a way, providing extra efficiency. As for the vaccinations that would be a great discovery giving piece of mind to all mothers. But like in amolinas comment i dont necessarily foresee a vaccination for humans altering tick populations too drastically. Ticks seek refuge on more animals then humans.
Posted by Francis Rogers
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