Investigation of seasonal activities of tick species on tortoise (Testudo graeca) in Adiyaman province

In this study, it has been aimed to determine the seasonal activities of the tick species living on tortoises in Adıyaman province. Field studies were carried out between march and november since tortoises go into hibernate. 77 tortoises specimens that were collected from 15 different localities have been examined in this study. The examined tortoises consist of 56 male, 13 female, and 8 juvenile specimens. Ticks were not detected in 8 of the tortoise specimens. 803 ticks were collected from 69 tortoises. It has been determined that all examined ticks belong to the H. eagyptium from Ixodidae family. The ticks consist of 389 male, 110 female, and 304 nymphal specimens. Larvae have not been detected on the tortoises. Nymhs has been indentified as Hyalomma spp. Tick infestations to the tortoise have been mostly observed on their hind legs and groin of tortoise. Tick has been rarely observed on the carapace region of the tortoise. It has been determined that there is a positive correlation between the size of the tortoise and the number of ticks infestations to the tortoise. It has been observed that H. eagyptium is the most active in june and the least active in april seasonally. Besides, nymphs have not been observed in march and april.