Functional Morphology of Secretion by the Large Wax Glands (Sensilla Sagittiformia) Involved in Tick Defense

Table 1

Number of days required for the large wax glands to replenish secretion by different nonfed stages of R. sanguineus (93% RH, 25°C) based on restimulation (leg pinching) following initial exhaustion of secretory reserves. L, larva; N, nymph; AM, adult male; AF adult female; dead tick, killed by freezing and then thawed to room temperature (shown); *, results from HCN-killed were similar. Data are mean  + SE and values followed by the same superscript letter within a column are not significantly different (ANOVA; 𝑃<.05). (N=3 replicates of 10 ticks for each time point with each replicate coming from a separate rearing batch of ticks).

	% body mass lost after exhausting secretion
	L	N	AM	AF
Stimulated once
Dead tick*	0	0	0	0
Live tick	1.25±0.12^a	1.39±0.24^a	2.51±0.09^a	2.33±0.17^a
Restimulation (day)
0	0^b	0^b	0^b	0^b
2	0.24±0.13^c	0.77±0.09^c	0.39±0.11^c	0.54±0.18^c
4	0.71±0.07^d	1.02±0.23^d	1.24±0.08^d	0.92±0.13^d
6	0.82±0.20^e	1.41±0.14^a	1.16±0.07^e	1.73±0.16^e
8	1.21±0.08^a	1.32±0.20^a	2.10±0.12^f	1.67±0.06^f
10	1.30±0.09^a	1.48±0.12^a	2.44±0.07^a	2.03±0.19^g
12	1.22±0.17^a	1.41±0.15^a	2.63±0.09^a	2.29±0.24^a
14	1.36±0.21^a	1.44±0.09^a	2.58±0.17^a	2.26±0.11^a
Body size
Initial mass (mg)	0.0347±0.003	0.147±0.009	2.16±0.54	3.32±0.26