| Summary: | The reproductive cycle of Dermacentor reticulatus (Ixodidae) is described in this paper. Experimental infestation was carried out on immobilized (fixed) RAP mice and those that could move freely. Dermacentor reticulatus (D. pictus) larvae, nymphs and adults were obtained from eggs placed in glass test tubes in two variants: dry medium (T° = 28-30°C, R.H. = 49-51%) and wet medium (T° = 28-31°C, R.H. = 94-95%). In the mice that were experimentally infested with the eggs incubated in wet medium, there were more fixed larvae that came off after sucking (8-786 larvae) compared with 0-7 larvae that were observed in the mice that could move freely. At the same time, more larvae were attached to the immobilized mice (2-786) compared with the number of larvae observed in the mice that could move freely (0-11). Infestation was not registered in the experimental animals that could move freely when the larvae were incubated in the dry medium. Experimental infestation with Dermacentor reticulatus failed in the RAP mice. The infested mice tolerated as much as 786 Dermacentor reticulatus larvae, but they died when 12-30 nymphs were fed on them.
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