A Field Study Examining the Attraction of Adult Dermacentor variabilis to Heat Stimuli Associated with Road Edge Habitats

Ticks use multiple sensory organs to facilitate host detection, including Haller's organs (HOs) that allow ticks to sense infrared (IR) radiation from potential hosts. Additionally, ticks have primitive eyes to sense light sources. The possibility exists that these senses may detect stimuli that attract ticks to road edge habitat, where IR radiation tends to be elevated. We investigated the role of the HOs and eyes in the attraction of adult American dog ticks, <i>Dermacentor variabilis</i>, towards road edge habitat(s). Adult <i>D. variabilis</i> were collected from multiple study sites and separated into three groups: (1) Haller's organs removed; (2) eyes painted with black nail polish; and (3) unmodified ticks (control). All tick groups were marked with a unique fluorescent paint color and released 7.5 m from the road edge at two study sites. Tick movements were tracked at night using ultraviolet lights, tick position(s) were recorded using flags, and measurements were recorded to track tick movement in relation to the release point and road edge. Surface temperatures were recorded at the road edge and in the field to detect a potential thermal stimulus. Mixed-effects models were applied to investigate the significance of tick proximity to the road edge between the groups and sites. Our results demonstrated that the control unmodified group was significantly closer to the road edge than the modified groups lacking Haller's organ or eyes (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.0001, <i>p</i> = 0.0049), leading to the conclusion that unmodified ticks move towards road edges. Modifying ticks, either by removing the HO or eyes of adult <i>D. variabilis</i> decreased tick movement toward road edges.