Internal and external mycoflora of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae), and its ecological implications.

Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, the anamorph of Microascus brevicaulis (Microascaceae, Ascomycota), has been identified in the body contents of the tick Dermacentor variabilis. After topical application of the fungal inoculum, tick mortality was marked. This is the first account describing the internal mycoflora of D. variabilis with a novel technique used to recover potential biological control agents.

Identification of 2,4-dichlorophenol in females of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae), and its possible role as a component of the attractant sex pheromone.

Presence of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) in extracts of fed and nonfed adult female Dermacentor variabilis (Say) by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) is reported. 2,4-DCP was detected as part of a mixture with 2,6-dichlorophenol, which is the attractant sex pheromone in this species in a 1:9 ratio, respectively. Extracts did not contain the monochlorinated phenols, 2-chlorophenol and 4-chlorophenol. None of these chlorophenols were detected in eggs. 2,4-DCP is comparable in efficacy to 2,6-DCP as an attractant sex pheromone, prompting attraction, arrestment and feeding posture behavior by fed males. It is also present in the female adult.