Mating, Sperm Transfer and Oviposition in Soft Ticks (Acari: Argasidae), a Review

This review addresses the physiology and behavioral events involved in the reproduction of soft ticks (family Argasidae), with special attention to the events of their adult life: mating, sperm transfer and egg-laying. Many of these aspects are held in common with hard ticks, but the repeated short duration of feeding bouts in soft ticks, in contrast to the extended single engorgements of hard ticks, has consequences peculiar to soft tick reproduction. Reviewed are the dramatic external mechanism of sperm transfer, the unusual maturation and unique morphology and motility of the spermatozoa, the mechanism of oogenesis and its hormonal control, the mystery of fertilization, the involvement of pheromones in mating, the control of reproductive arrests and the vertical transmission of symbiotes in reproduction. Jumping-off points for further investigation are discussed throughout.