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Background  The population dynamics of vector-borne pathogens inside the arthropod vector can have important consequences for vector-to-host transmission. Tick-borne spirochete bacteria of the  Borrelia burgdorferi  ( sensu lato ) species complex cause Lyme borreliosis in humans and spend long periods of time (>12 months) in their  Ixodes  tick vectors. To date, few studies have investigated the dynamics of  Borrelia  spirochete populations in unfed  Ixodes  nymphal ticks.    Methods  Larval ticks from our laboratory colony of  I. ricinus  were experimentally infected with  B. afzelii , and killed at 1 month and 4 months after the larva-to-nymph moult. The spirochete load was also compared between engorged larval ticks and unfed nymphs (from the same cohort) and between unfed nymphs and unfed adult ticks (from the same cohort). The spirochete load of  B. afzelii  in each tick was estimated using qPCR.    Results  The mean spirochete load in the 1-month-old nymphs (~14,000 spirochetes) was seven times higher than the 4-month-old nymphs (~2000 spirochetes). Thus, the nymphal spirochete load declined by 80% over a period of 3 months. An engorged larval tick acquired ~100 spirochetes, and this population was 20 times larger in a young, unfed nymph. The spirochete load also appeared to decline in adult ticks. Comparison between wild and laboratory populations found that lab ticks were more susceptible to acquiring  B. afzelii .    Conclusion  The spirochete load of  B. afzelii  declines dramatically over time in domesticated  I. ricinus  nymphs under laboratory conditions. Future studies should investigate whether temporal declines in spirochete load occur in wild  Ixodes  ticks under natural conditions and whether these declines influence the tick-to-host transmission of  Borrelia .    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2187-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The abundance of the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia afzelii declines over time in the tick vector Ixodes ricinus