Uneven seasonal distribution of Babesia canis and its two 18S rDNA genotypes in questing Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in urban habitats

It is known from literature that D. reticulatus individuals that moult to adult in the spring are smaller in size. Thus, the above results suggest that in urban habitats the occurrence of B. canis-infected ticks (or their questing activity) is more likely, when there are freshly emerged adults in the population, i.e. early in the questing season. It was also observed that the temporal distribution of D. reticulatus ticks carrying different B. canis genotypes was not random.