Ixodes simplex Neumann, 1906

Ixodes simplex Neumann, 1906: 197.

Ixodes audyi Kohls, 1955: 1; Clifford et al. 1973: 489.

Ixodes spiculae Arthur, 1956: 180.

Ixodes pospelovae Emchuk, 1955: 606; Beaucournu 1966: 495.

Ixodes chiropterorum Babos & Janisch, 1958: 389; Beaucournu 1966: 495.

Recorded hosts.

Mammalia: Myotis blythii Tomes (lesser mouse-eared bat), Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl) (common bent-wing bat), Nyctalus leisleri (Kuhl) (lesser noctule) (Filippova 1977).

Recorded locations

(Fig. 2). Russia: Krasnodar Krai – outskirts of Sochi (Emchuk 1955; Filippova 1972). Ukraine: eastern Carpathians – outskirts of Solotvyn and Rakhiv (Emchuk 1955; Filippova 1972). Azerbaijan: outskirts of Şahbuz and Hadrut (Emchuk 1955; Filippova 1972).

Ecology and other information.

Ixodes simplex is a tick species specialized for bats as hosts (Filippova 1977). This species is mainly monoxenous and can be found usually on the common bent-wing bat although some other species of the Chiroptera may also act as hosts, especially which share colonies with its main host (Beaucournu 1967). Some rare cases of human infestation are also recorded (Okino et al. 2010; Péter et al. 2021).