Ixodes scapularis

• Also known as the blacklegged tick
• Where found: Widely distributed across the eastern United States.
• Transmits: Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii (which cause Lyme disease), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (anaplasmosis), Borrelia miyamotoi (a form of relapsing fever), Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis (ehrlichiosis), Babesia microti (babesiosis), and Powassan virus
  • Coinfections in 5-10%
• The greatest risk of being bitten exists in the spring, summer, and fall. However, adults may be out searching for a host any time winter temperatures are above freezing.
• Four life stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult
  • Only nymph and adult stages can transmit Lyme disease
  • Highest risk of infection is from nymph stage (hard to find and remove) followed by adult female
• Ticks wait on the tips of grasses and shrubs for a host to brush against is; they do not jump, fly, or drop from trees