# Argas persicus
**Argas persicus** (Oken, 1818) is a soft tick in the family Argasidae that parasitizes domestic poultry and is known commonly as the fowl tick, poultry tick, or Persian poultry argas; its basionym is *Rhynchoprion persicum*.[1](https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1116569) It is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical countries and is the vector of *Borrelia anserina*, the agent of avian spirochetosis, and the rickettsia *Aegyptianella pullorum*, which causes fowl disease (aegyptianellosis).[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Classification | Family Argasidae (soft ticks); species *Argas persicus* (Oken, 1818), basionym *Rhynchoprion persicum*; common names fowl tick, poultry tick, Persian poultry argas[1](https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1116569) |
| Distribution | Worldwide in tropical and subtropical countries; in the United States along the Gulf Coast and Mexican border[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) • [3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus) |
| Hosts | Domestic poultry (chickens, ducks, geese); sporadic records on diverse birds such as quail, guinea fowl, vultures, and cranes; rarely bites people[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus) • [4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299828/) |
| Feeding pattern | Larvae attach and feed for 2–7 days; nymphs and adults feed at night for 15–30 minutes and hide in cracks and crevices by day[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) |
| Reproduction | Females lay as many as 500 eggs after each feeding (other accounts give clutches of 25–100)[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) • [3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus) |
| Starvation tolerance | Adult females can live more than 4 years without a blood meal; larvae may survive over 200 days at 21–24°C and above 85% relative humidity[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) • [4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299828/) |
| Transmitted pathogens | *Borrelia anserina* (avian spirochetosis) and *Aegyptianella pullorum* (aegyptianellosis)[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) |
## Description and taxonomy
*A. persicus* is a small soft tick. Like other members of the family Argasidae, it has a leathery dorsal surface and lacks the highly sclerotized scutum that characterizes the hard ticks (Ixodidae).[5](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/integumentary-system/ticks/argasid-ticks) The unfed adult is yellow to reddish-brown and turns blue when engorged, which gives rise to the folk name "blue bug".[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus) • [6](https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/livestock-entomology/ticks) The female is about 8–10 mm long and larger than the 5 mm male, with leathery, mammillated, and wrinkled dorsal and ventral surfaces.[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus)
Taxonomy within the group is not settled. Within the United States, the *A. persicus* complex has been split into several species: besides *A. persicus* itself, it now comprises *Argas miniatus*, *Argas sanchezi*, and *Argas radiatus*.[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) In China, *A. persicus* is described as the most common argasid species, and it is among the 9 of 15 valid Chinese argasid species recorded biting humans, although it rarely does so.[7](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9361067/) • [4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299828/)
## Life cycle and behavior
Mating and egg laying occur off the host, particularly in bird nests and in cracks and crevices of poultry buildings.[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus) Six-legged larvae hatch in 1–4 weeks, seek a host, and feed for a few hours up to 5 days (accounts range from a few hours to 5 days, and up to 5–10 days in one review); fed larvae leave the host and molt to first-instar nymphs in about a week.[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus) • [4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299828/) There is one larval stage and at least two nymphal stages, though three to seven may occur, with the last molting to the adult.[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus)
**Nocturnal feeding.** Nymphs and adults feed at night, usually for 15–30 minutes (fewer than 2 hours to full engorgement by one account), then retreat into cracks, crevices, or debris during the day; all feeding is done under reduced light conditions.[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) • [4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299828/) Adults feed repeatedly, most commonly under the wings, and females lay eggs after each blood meal.[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks)
The speed of the life cycle depends strongly on conditions. Under suitable warm, humid conditions the cycle from egg to adult can be completed within about 30 days.[3](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus) A laboratory study in [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa](https://www.edgepedia.org/khyber-pakhtunkhwa), Pakistan, rearing the tick on domestic fowl at a mean temperature of 33 ± 3°C and 65 ± 5% relative humidity, completed the full cycle from egg to egg in 113–132 days; the same study found adults most prevalent (48.52% of 7,219 collected ticks), followed by nymphs (44.85%) and larvae (6.62%), and an overall shelter prevalence of 38.66% (58 of 150 shelters).[8](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34095277/) [Starvation](https://www.edgepedia.org/starvation) tolerance is a defining trait: unfed adults generally live about a year, but adult females can survive more than 4 years without a blood meal, and larvae survived over 200 days at 21–24°C and above 85% relative humidity, though only 50 days at 37°C at the same humidity.[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) • [4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299828/) Because of this longevity, allowing an infested chicken coop to stand uninhabited as a control measure requires an extended duration dependent on temperature.[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299828/)
## Veterinary importance and transmitted pathogens
*A. persicus* is an important poultry pest in warm climates, thriving in poultry houses and chicken coops.[5](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/integumentary-system/ticks/argasid-ticks) Heavy infestations cause irritation, restlessness, and reduced productivity through severe anemia, and the tick transmits pathogens, especially *Borrelia anserina*, the agent of avian spirochetosis.[9](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7888641/) Clinical effects of infestation include anemia (the most important), weight loss, depression, toxemia, and paralysis, with decreased egg production and red feeding spots on the skin; death is rare, but production can be severely depressed.[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) Large populations are capable of killing birds or chicks through blood loss.[6](https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/livestock-entomology/ticks)
Beyond *B. anserina* and *Aegyptianella pullorum*, *Argas* species including *A. persicus* can cause tick paralysis, and *Argas* spp. transmit *Pasteurella multocida*, the agent of [fowl cholera](https://www.edgepedia.org/fowl-cholera).[5](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/integumentary-system/ticks/argasid-ticks) An estimated vertical transmission rate for *B. anserina* in the tick is 67% (Zaher et al., 1977).[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299828/) The tick is rarely found in commercial caged laying operations but occurs in cage-free housing, including breeder, pasture, and small-scale flocks.[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) In a global systematic review of chicken ectoparasites, *A. persicus* was listed among the acarine species of medical interest, and infestation rates varied widely, from 9.6% to 100% at the country level, with higher rates in backyard free-range systems and indigenous breeds.[10](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00439339.2025.2600415) In Nigeria, *A. persicus* is the predominant tick species reported in poultry, mostly from the north-west geopolitical zone.[11](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12399501/)
## Host immunity
Chickens develop acquired resistance to the tick through repeated infestation. In a Czech study, dwarf Velsum chickens first infested at 10 weeks of age with 100 larvae at 2-week intervals rejected 74.6% and 75.9% of larvae during secondary and tertiary infestations relative to controls, and specific anti-tick antibodies were detectable by ELISA.[12](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8171834/) An Egyptian study of repeated feeding by adult females in winter and summer found a significant nonfeeding percentage of ticks in both seasons, peak anti-tick antibody titers after the fourth feeding, and altered serum protein band patterns in infested chickens (12–18 bands versus 5–10 in non-infested birds).[13](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11478446/)
## Control
Conventional control relies on acaricides, which carry problems of environmental contamination and the development of resistance.[14](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20541868/) Recommended practice is cleaning of houses followed by thorough treatment of walls, ceilings, cracks, and crevices with acaricides using a high-pressure sprayer, and filling in cracks and crevices where ticks hide.[2](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks) Alternatives have been tested in the laboratory: three strains (V245, 685, and 715C) of the entomopathogenic fungus *Metarhizium anisopliae* were evaluated against eggs, larvae, unfed females, and engorged adult females of *A. persicus* as an alternative to chemical acaricides.[14](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20541868/) [Abamectin](https://www.edgepedia.org/abamectin), an ivermectin analog, sprayed in aqueous solutions of 0.0625 to 1 mL/L on feeding stages reduced feeding, oviposition, and hatching, and a dose of 0.5 mL/L applied in fowl shelters (floors, walls, ceilings) was sufficient to eradicate an *A. persicus* population.[15](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21547393/)
## References
1. [ITIS Report: Argas persicus (Oken, 1818)](https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1116569)
2. [Fowl Ticks, Merck Veterinary Manual (reviewed January 2026)](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/arthropods-in-poultry/fowl-ticks?autoredirectid=36626&query=ticks)
3. [Argas persicus, ScienceDirect Topics overview](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/argas-persicus)
4. [Perpetuation of Borreliae, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8299828/)
5. [Argasid Ticks, Merck Veterinary Manual (reviewed June 2025)](https://www.merckvetmanual.com/integumentary-system/ticks/argasid-ticks)
6. [Ticks, Oklahoma State University Extension](https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/livestock-entomology/ticks)
7. [A review of argasid ticks and associated pathogens of China, Frontiers in Veterinary Science (PMC)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9361067/)
8. [Life Cycle and Genetic Identification of Argas persicus Infesting Domestic Fowl in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2021](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34095277/)
9. [Comparison of the hemolysis machinery in two evolutionarily distant blood-feeding arthropod vectors, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7888641/)
10. [Global prevalence of chicken ectoparasites: a systematic review and meta-analysis, World's Poultry Science Journal](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00439339.2025.2600415)
11. [Parasites of poultry in Nigeria from 1980 to 2022: a review, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12399501/)
12. [Age-dependent immune response of chickens to feeding by Argas persicus larvae, Veterinary Parasitology 1994](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8171834/)
13. [Studies on chicken acquired resistance to Argas (Persicargas) persicus due to repeated infestation, J Egypt Soc Parasitol 2001](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11478446/)
14. [Metarhizium anisopliae: an effective alternative to chemical acaricides against different developmental stages of fowl tick Argas persicus, Veterinary Parasitology 2010](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20541868/)
15. [Efficacy of abamectin against the fowl tick, Argas (Persicargas) persicus, PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21547393/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Animals › Invertebrates › Arthropods › Arachnids › Mites and ticks › Ticks › Named soft tick species (Argasidae)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license