![]() ![]() In New Jersey, the most prominent infectious agents transmitted by lone star ticks are the bacteria that cause ehrlichiosis, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, which causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) and the milder Ehrlichia ewingii. Medical Importance Human Diseasesīesides being a painful nuisance, lone star ticks can also transmit disease-causing organisms to humans. All stages of this relatively large tick bite humans, and since they have significantly longer mouthparts than American dog ticks, which are similarly sized, their bites are deep and usually cause a mild allergic reaction (red, itchy lesion) at the bite site within the first 48 hours after attachment. Additionally, and somewhat menancingly, lone star ticks can actively pursue hosts following CO 2 trails and are aggressive biters. The behavior of ticks searching for a host is called "questing." Despite the term making it sound like they are embarking on a long journey, most ticks simply crawl up to a high point on vegetation, stretch out their front legs, and wait for a host to walk by and brush against them so they can latch on. But all life stages of the lone star tick are distinguishable from blacklegged and dog ticks by their rounder shape, with the other two species appearing more oblong or sesame-seed shaped (Fig. The lone star tick female is most recognizable by the large white dot on its back (Fig. Bottom row: Blacklegged (deer) tick adult female (left) and American dog tick female (right). Top row: Lone star ticks, from left: Adult female, nymph, larva. Thus, unlike blacklegged ticks that have stages active even in the fall and dead of winter if it is just warm enough, lone star tick activity is concentrated during spring and summer.įig. In New Jersey, lone star adults are active from April to mid-June nymphs are active from April to July and larvae are active from July to Sept. All stages of lone star tick feed on deer, but larvae and nymphs have also been found on small- to medium-sized mammals, passerine birds, and turkeys. Larvae and nymphs take a blood meal in order to grow into the next stage, while adult females must feed on blood to lay eggs. Typical of all hard ticks, each active stage feeds only once. The lone star tick, like blacklegged and American dog ticks, is a hard-bodied tick with four life stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult (Figs. Importantly, it is now detected north of Monmouth, the central-coastal county that used to be the upper boundary of its range (Fig. In many areas where it occurs, it is the most abundant tick species, outnumbering blacklegged ticks by a factor of 3:1 or more. 1) in xeric forested pine/scrub habitats and along the Atlantic coast. In New Jersey the lone star tick is found mostly in the southern part of the state (Fig. As a result, until about 60 years ago they were mostly restricted to the southeastern U.S., the Gulf coast, Texas, and Oklahoma. However, possibly due to farming practices that destroyed the forests, and deer hunting that reduced a critical tick host, by the late 1800s lone star tick populations had declined to the point of extinction in many parts of the northeastern U.S. The Swedish naturalist Pehr Kalm, during a visit to Fort Anne, NY in June 1749, remarked they were so plentiful that "scarcely any one of us sat down but a whole army of them crept upon his clothes" (Kalm 1771, pg. ![]() The lone star tick was the first tick described in this country in 1754. ![]() Documented distribution of lone star ticks in New Jersey, 2008. ![]()
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