Ixodes pacificus is the western counterpart of Ixodes scapularis, found from British Columbia south through the Pacific states. It transmits Borrelia burgdorferi but at lower nymphal infection rates than its eastern cousin, partly because the western dusky-footed woodrat and lizards (which clear the spirochete) act as alternative hosts.
Ixodes scapularis takes three blood meals over a roughly two-year life cycle. Larvae and nymphs feed mainly on white-footed mice and other…
Dermacentor occidentalis is found only along the Pacific coast of California, Oregon, and Washington and inland through California's coast…
Ixodes ricinus, the castor bean tick, is the European cousin of Ixodes scapularis and the dominant Lyme vector across Europe from Portugal…
Dermacentor occidentalis transmits Rickettsia 364D (now classified as Rickettsia rickettsii subsp. californica), the cause of Pacific…
Dermacentor variabilis adults have ornate white-and-brown mottling on the scutum and are roughly the size of a watermelon seed when unfed.…
Ixodes scapularis has expanded its established range north into Canada and west into the Dakotas over the past three decades. The…