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Background  Given the sympatric occurrence in some regions of Europe and the great epidemiological significance of  D. reticulatus  and  D. marginatus  species, we investigated the behaviour of these ticks during inter-specific and mono-specific host infestations.    Findings  The investigations were conducted on rabbits at 20 ± 3 °C and humidity of 38 ± 1 %. The inter-specific infestations groups consisted of 20 females and ten males of  D. marginatus  and 20 females and ten males of  D. reticulatus  on each host, whereas mono-specific infestations involved 40 females and 20 males of each species.  The investigations have demonstrated competition between the two tick species resulting in modification of the behaviour on the host and the feeding course in  D. marginatus  females by the presence of  D. reticulatus . In the inter-specific group,  D. marginatus  females attached for a longer time (mean 2.74 ± 1.12 h) than in the mono-specific group (mean 1.24 ± 0.97 h) ( p  < 0.0001). The feeding period of these females was shorter (9.45 ± 1.30 days) than in the mono-specific group (13.15 ± 2.53 days) ( p  < 0.0001), but they exhibited a statistically significantly higher body weight in comparison with the females from the mono-specific infestation ( p  = 0.0155). In  D. reticulatus  females ,  no significant difference was found in the host attachment and feeding rates between the mono-specific and inter-specific groups.    Conclusions  The differences in the behaviour of the females from both species during co-feeding reflect physiological adaptation to environmental conditions, which enables them to ingest blood and reproduce. During co-feeding of  D. reticulatus  and  D. marginatus  on the same host, two inter-specific systems with different physiological features are formed, which may influence the transmission of tick-borne pathogens.

Host-feeding behaviour of Dermacentor reticulatus and Dermacentor marginatus in mono-specific and inter-specific infestations