Life Cycle and Host Preferences

Hyalomma franchinii is a three-host tick with one life cycle per year under natural conditions (Hoogstraal and Kaiser 1958b). The immature stages of Hy. franchinii parasitize lizards and, less commonly, rodents. Adult hosts are camels, cattle, sheep and donkeys. Immature stages are found on lizards all year around, having been recorded on Acanthodactylus boskianus, Acanthodactylus schreiberi, A. scutellatus and Agama mutabilis according to data summarized by Apanaskevich et al. (2008). Adults appear to be most common during the cooler months of the year. Observations in Egypt (July and August) mentioned a duration of egg development of about 25 days, and a duration of larval moult of about 14–16 days (recorded in September–October).

Ecology

Hyalomma franchinii has a Mediterranean distribution and is adapted to dry and warm environmental conditions. Its distribution area is typically desert and it has not been recorded in areas with more than 10 or 20 l of rainfall/m2 per year. However, it can be relatively abundant near watering points. The immatures are endophilic and are commonly found in the burrows of the lizards. Some observations published by Morel (2003) state that the adults can be found at the entry point of the lizard’s shelter and are exophilic.

Distribution

The known distribution of Hy. franchinii is restricted to the eastern part of the Mediterranean subregion of the Palaearctic zoogeographic region in Africa (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia) and Asia (Israel) (Hoogstraal 1956; Hoogstraal and Kaiser 1958a, b, 1960; Cwilich and Hadani 1962; Bouattour et al. 1999; Apanaskevich et al. 2008).

Vectorial Capacity and Pathogen Burden

The relationships between disease inducing agents and Hy. franchinii have not been investigated. It is common in areas where protozoa of the genus Theileria circulate in nature, but its role in the circulation of these agents has been never tested either under natural or laboratory conditions.