Lone Star Ticks

This is from my friend Rick Laferriere in an e-mail sent to me.

Journal of Medical Entomology(2013), 50(2):244

http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/ME12207 We need to know the enemy(ticks) Be well, Richard

Begin Article:

Lone star tick (Acari: Ixodidae) occurrence in Nebraska:
historical and current perspectives.
Cortinas R, Spomer S.
Journal of Medical Entomology, 2013 Mar;50(2):244-51.



Abstract

In 2010 and 2011, field collections were undertaken to
determine the geographic range of the lone star tick,
Amblyomma americanum (L.), in Nebraska In addition, tick
identifications from submissions by the general public
dating to 1911 were examined. Consistent lone star tick
identifications from extreme southeast Nebraska began in 1987.

Specimens have been identified from 27 counties, making lone
star ticks the second most frequently and second most widely
reported tick in the state after Dermacentor variabilis
(Say). Surveys conducted in 70 sites in 43 counties yielded
2,169 ticks of which 1,035 were lone star ticks. Lone star
ticks were more frequent in the southeast portion of the
state and ticks were found in nine counties from which there
were no known submissions. Life stage peaks observed during
the surveys corresponded with those observed from
submissions. Other ticks, incidental to the study, were also
collected.

Woody plant expansion into the tallgrass prairie,
white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virgianianus L.) and wild
turkey (Meleagris gallopavo L.) population growth, and the
increased frequency of milder winters may be facilitating
lone star tick occurrence in the region. Further studies
will assess lone star tick establishment and disease
pathogen prevalence in the state.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/ME12207