Biology of Ticks

by Daniel E. Sonenshine

This is the first volume of a two-volume work on the basic biology, ecology, disease transmission and control of ticks. Ticks are parasitic insects that infect cattle, birds and people. The health and economic consequences of ticks are so considerable that most land- grant universities have
tick laboratories associated with their entomology departments. In addition, state and federal health officials are concerned with disease transmission by ticks. This first volume covers the anatomy, functional morphology, physiology, reproduction, development and ecology of ticks. The descriptions
are comprehensive and fully up-to-date. Entomologists, and in particular tick specialists (acarologists), as well as public health officials, will find this work of interest. It will also be extremely useful to advanced students beginning research in these fields. Volume 2 will focus on ticks and
disease, with sections on immunological response to tick parasitism, and the control of ticks and disease.

472 pages, Hardcover

First published January 2, 1992

About the author

Growing up in New York City, Dan Sonenshine, professor emeritus and eminent scholar of biological sciences, dreamed of glory on the baseball diamond or football field. As a graduate student, he discovered his field of dreams was acarology, the scientific study of mites and ticks.

Something about the tick clicked, and Sonenshine embarked on a love-hate relationship with the pesky arachnid that opened doors to places he’d never thought of going – the Sinai Desert, for example, where he once collected ticks from camels in a Bedouin encampment.

Shortly after joining the Old Dominion faculty in 1961, Sonenshine began a tick research project in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Science. Along with other faculty, he created a master’s program and two Ph.D. programs and, in 1983, received ODU’s Tonelson Award for academic excellence. He served as the associate vice president for research for four years.

Sonenshine’s research on tick pheromones, tick immunity and tick-borne diseases began in 1984. Patents and commercial products derived from his work. His definitive two-volume text, The Biology of Ticks, was published in 1991 and 1993, followed by the Dynamics of Tick-Borne Zoonoses in 1994. He received Virginia’s Outstanding Scientist award in 1994.

Sonenshine retired “from teaching, only” in 2002. He continues to do research and remains director of ODU’s Animal Care Facility.