Hostname: page-component-6d856f89d9-72csx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T08:42:29.175Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

On the egg of the tick, Ixodes ricinus L.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

D. R. Arthur
D. R. Arthur
Affiliation:
From the Department of Zoology, King's College, University of London
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The egg of Ixodes ricinus L. is described, and the increase in size during development is noted. It is suggested that the increase is due to the absorption of water. The egg wall consists of exo- and endochorion with a thin vitelline membrane, which becomes thicker as development proceeds and assumes a laminated appearance. The secretion layer of Gené's organ is described, and appears to function as a cement for holding the eggs together in the cluster. Chemical tests show it to be of a waxy nature.

It is deduced from experimental evidence that the egg shell is not absolutely rigid, and the weight of evidence favours the view that the shape of the egg shell is maintained by the internal pressure of the egg contents, and the elasticity of the shell.

The development processes as seen in the living egg are described. Hatching from the egg shell is brought about by a muscular force acting on a limited area at the posterior pole of the egg.

The writer is indebted to Mr Robert David, of Longlands Farm, Pyle, Dr A. D. Lees, of the Agricultural Research Council, and Mr Simeon, of the Glamorgan War Agricultural Executive Committee, for supplies of material; to Mr T. W. Tyssul Jones, M.Sc., for his assistance in checking the measurements of the egg dimensions, and to Mr L. Cowley, M.Sc., Assistant Curator (Department of Zoology), National Museum of Wales, and Dr P. Tate, Molteno Institute of Parasitology, Cambridge, for reading the original script and for making many useful suggestions and modifications.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 39 , Issue 1-2 , July 1948 , pp. 53 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1948

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arthur, D. R. (1945). Nature, Lond., 156, 538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bertkau, P. (1881). Verh. naturh. Ver. preuss. Rheinl. Jahrg. 38, 145.Google Scholar
Bischoff, H. (1927). Biologie der Hymenopteren. Berlin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, J. A. (1946). Nature, Lond., 157, 412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chabrier, F. (1807). Magazin für Insektenkunde, 6, 366.Google Scholar
Edwards, E. E. & Arthur, D. R. (1946 a). Parasitology, 38, 72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, E. E. & Arthur, D. R. (1946 b). Report to Agricultural Research Council (unpublished).Google Scholar
Kossel, H., Schütz, W., Weber, E. & Miessner, C. (1903). Arb. Kaiserl. GesundhAmt., Berl., 20, 77 pp.Google Scholar
MacLeod, J. (1932). Parasitology, 24, 382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacLeod, J. (1935). Parasitology, 27, 489.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. (1943). Ann. Appl. Biol. 30, 240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, A. (1944). Parasitology, 36, 142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuttall, G. H. F. (1911). Notes on the biology of Ixodes. In Ticks. A Monograph of Ixodoidea, 2, 294. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sikes, E. K. & Wigglesworth, V. B. (1931). Quart. J. Micr. Sci. 74, 165.Google Scholar
Wheler, E. G. (1899). Science Gossip, 5, 363.Google Scholar
Wigglesworth, V. B. (1939). The Principles of Insect Physiology. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Wilson, R. E. (1921). J. Industr. Engng Chem. 13, 326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar