Disease Vectors

Largest group of animals on earth?

Phylum Arthropoda

Differences between Arachnida and Insecta

Tagmata, legs, antennae, wings, mouthparts, eyes, respiratory organs, development

Arachnida vs Insecta Mouthparts

A: Chelicerae I: Mandibles

Arachnida vs Insecta Eyes

A: simple eyes I: simple and compound eyes

Arachnida vs Insecta Respiratory organs

Book lungs, tracheae vs Tracheal system opening via spiracles

Arachnida vs Insecta development

direct development vs incomplete/complete metamorphosis

Arthropods have

Segmented body and paired appendages (bilateral symmetry), hard exoskeleton, must molt

Arthropod nervous systems are

highly sophisticated with multiple major ganglia

To survive cold or dry periods

quiescence in ticks, diapause in insects

Lice

Pthiraptera

Fleas

Siphonaptera

Flies

Diptera

Bugs

Hemiptera

Host

An animal that is infected with a pathogen or ectoparasite.

Reservoir

A type of host in which a disease can persist for long periods of time and contributes to disease amplification

Vector

An organism that conveys a pathogen from one host to another.

Zoonotic

Any disease that spreads from animals to people.

Arthropod impacts on human health

Parasitism/direct injury, allergies to saliva or venom, fear/delusory parasitosis, disease transmission

Parasite

An organism living on or depending on a host and feeding on tissues or discharges of that host.

Facultative parasite

A parasite in which some or all of its life stages can be free living or parasitic on a host depending on environmental circumstances.

Arcariformes

Spider mites, spider mites, dust mites, chiggers

Parasitiformes

Hard and soft ticks

Tick Taxonomy

Arachnida, Acari, Ixodida

3 major tick families

Ixodidae, Aragasidae, Nuttalliellidae

Aragasidae Features

Capitulum Hidden, 4th palpal segment not recessed, soft integument (body)

Ixodidae Features

Capitulum visible, 4th palpal segment recessed, hard integument

Important Ixodid Families

Ambyomma, Dermacentor, Haemaphsalis, Ixodes, Rhipicephalus

Nidiculous

Live their lifespan in animal nests