Fig. 2

Sampling design. Twenty six ant nest sites of Formica polyctena and 26 paired control sites were selected. The center of the ant site corresponded to the ant nest whereas the center of the control site was randomly generated. Data collection took place in the sampling plots (n = 130), which were placed at a distance of 10 m or 20 m from the center of the site. Collection of questing Ixodes ticks took place along a transect line in all sampling plots. Ant baits were used to determine the abundance of Formica polyctena ants