With the purpose of characterize morphologically the hemocytes of larvae and nymphs of Rhipicephalus sanguineus on different nutritional phases, it was obtained samples of haemolymph were obtained by sectioning the forelegs and collecting the drop there formed. After dried, the samples were fixed by methanol and stained by Giemsa. Microscopical observation resulted in the characterization of five basic cellular types: prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, granulocytes, spherulocytes and oenocytoids. Moreover, undefined cell types, whose morphological patterns didn't have correlation with the characteristics cited for hemocytes, were found in low frequency. The change in the relative composition of the haemolimph was characterized by decrease of the number of granulocytes and greater variabilily of the cell types present in the hemolymph as the tick evolved. This fact may be linked to the alterations that these cells suffer along the development of the tick.
Ixodid; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; hemocytes; morphology