Know Your Vector: Lonestar Ticks

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- Lone star ticks have historically been restricted to the American Southeast and were rarely, if ever, encountered in Pennsylvania in the neighboring Northeast.

However, the species has been moving North over the last 10 to 20 years.

They initially stayed near the coast, where temperatures and climate are more temperate, but have slowly moved westward into the Appalachian Mountains and beyond.

Lone star ticks can now be found across Pennsylvania, but are often patchily distributed, being very abundant in some areas and apparently absent from other areas.

Lone star tick larvae and nymphs are active during the Summer through the Fall, while adults are active from the Spring through the Summer.

Lone star tick larvae and nymphs, preferentially feed on medium and large mammals, such as deer or foxes and ground nesting birds like turkeys.

Larvae will also occasionally feed on small mammals such as mice.

Adult Lone star ticks feed on medium and large mammals.

All life stages are aggressive biters of humans and companion animals.

Adult female Lone star ticks are distinctively colored, having dark red legs, mouth parts and body, with a single white spot at the tip of the scutum.

No other ticks in the Northeast have this color pattern.

Adult male Lone star ticks are somewhat harder to identify.

They're also dark red in color, but instead of a single white spot, they usually have four white to off white lines at the corners of the scutum.

These white lines may be absent so the tick is entirely dark red.

In addition to the distinctive coloration, Lone star ticks have festoons, which will help distinguish them from some species such as Blacklegged ticks.

So to summarize, Lone star ticks can be active from Spring into Fall, and are aggressive biters of humans and companion animals.

Females can be identified by the white spot on their backs.

Males can have white to off white lines on their backs, but can be entirely red.

Males and females both have festoons.