To assess the ability of Dermacentor variabilis larvae to feed on mice during repeated
infestations, known numbers of larvae were confined to the skin of BALB/c mice within
plastic capsules, and different skin sites were used in four successive infestations. In
secondary infestations larval feeding appeared to be enhanced, but in subsequent
infestations the mice expressed acquired tick resistance, manifested by reduction in
numbers of engorged larvae and in weights of fed larvae. Resistance, once established, was …