Then it drops off, and eggs are laid on the ground in the spring. After attaching to a suitable host, this species remains on the animal, feeding and molting until it has fully grown. As with other ticks, they wait on leaf litter or low vegetation for a host to brush by. They don’t become active until cold weather returns in the fall. Eggs of this species hatch in the spring, but the larvae remain bunched together in a torpor all summer long. It doesn’t commonly bite people, and does not transmit agents that cause disease in people. It is often found on moose, deer, or horses during the fall, winter or spring. Unlike that species, the winter tick isn’t active in the summer and it completes its entire development on one host. The winter tick, Dermacentor albipictus, is similar in size and appearance to the American dog tick. Therefore, it isn’t involved in the spread of Lyme disease. Despite the fact the spirochete (bacterium) that causes Lyme disease has been found in American dog ticks, tests prove that the tick can’t transmit the organism to its hosts. Stories in the press have confused many people about the relationship of this tick and Lyme disease. The tick is most active from May through July in New Hampshire. This species can transmit the organism that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which is rare in New England but more common farther south. American dog ticks can survive a very long time without feeding. The life cycle can be as short as three months, but typically lasts two years. Mating takes place on the host, and when fully fed, the females drop off and lay eggs. A female fully engorged with a blood meal can be almost the size of a dime, appearing smooth and shiny. They also take several days to fully engorge (feed). When fully fed it drops off and molts to the adult stage.Īdult ticks wait on shrubs or tall grass and attach to larger mammals such as people, deer, or pets. When that happens, the tick attaches and feeds on it for several days. Again it waits for a host (usually a rodent) to brush by. Then it drops off and molts to the nymph stage, which has eight legs. It attaches to the animal and feeds for several days. The larva remains on the ground in leaf litter, or in low vegetation while waiting for a small mammal (usually a rodent) to brush by. The egg hatches into a larva, which has six legs. The dog tick begins life as an egg, one of hundreds laid in a mass on the ground by a female tick. Parts of Cheshire, Sullivan, Grafton and northern Coos don’t have many. This species has now spread to every county in the state. It is a “threehost tick,” so named because it must find and feed on an animal three times to complete its two- year life cycle. It is about 1/8” (4-5mm) long, brown and tan, with an obvious mottled pattern of surface markings on the back (opposite the belly side). The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, is the most frequently encountered tick in New Hampshire. This publication will help you learn what ticks look like, how they live, the diseases they spread, how to manage tick problems, and how to protect yourself from tick-borne diseases. Some can also transmit diseases to the people or pets they bite. Several species are important because they bite people and/or pets. Therefore, this publication covers species of that group. Those of importance to hikers, campers, and pet owners are in the family Ixodidae. There are two families of ticks, the Ixodidae (hard ticks) and Argasidae (soft ticks).
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