365 Urban Species. #146: American Dog TIck

[urbpan]

Urban species #146: American dog tick Dermacentor variabilis

Also called the wood tick, this is the largest and most common tick in Eastern North America. Unlike the deer tick, it doesn't carry Lyme disease, but can transmit other diseases, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever. It becomes active in April and May, climbing to the tops of weeds waiting for a mammal to come by and serve as a host. Baby dog ticks feed on small mammals like mice and rats, move to larger mammals as they grow, such as skunks and raccoons. They are "three host" ticks, and the third host is likely to be a domestic dog, or even a large urban primate.


We collected this bottle full of ticks (deer and dog both) from the dogs, at the end of a July visit to (appropriately enough) Dogtown.

Comments

[lisianthia.livejournal.com]

Great icon!

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

EW ticks are icky...seriously the only animal I really don't like...:P
I think a deer tick was on me...did you ever read that post of mine?
I think that first picture is really neat looking, even tho, EW TICK! :P

[ankhanu.livejournal.com]

First (and only) time I had ticks on me, I was pretty repulsed :P Can't say I'm a fan... they're quite rare in these parts though, luckily.

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

How do you suppose the little tick know which mammal are little and the big ones know who's big?

[cailin-t.livejournal.com]

*groan* there was one on my neck today because i wore the same shirt i wore in the woods yesterday. they're ALL OVER where i do my bird stuff. we have "tick pliers" we carry around, lol.

[miss-jett.livejournal.com]

Your pups are absolutely gorgeous! :D

[artemii.livejournal.com]

when i was a child we had outdoor gym class one day and i somehow ended up with a tick on my eyelash. it took over an hour for it to be successfully removed because the doctors were worried about accidentally damaging my eye.

[bloolark.livejournal.com]

I clicked over from cottonmanifesto's journal and decided to friend you so that I didn't have to remember to come over and look at your urban species. Laziness, completely. :) Hope you don't mind!

The pictures are beautiful!

[richmackin.livejournal.com]

Dun Dun Dunanananananah
Dun Dun Dunanananananah
Dun Dun Dunanananananah
Dun Dun Dunanananananah
American Dog Tick, stay away from me
American Dog Tick, just let me be
Don't come a hangin' around my dog
I don't wanna see you drinking blood like grog
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time checkin' dogs you
Now Dog Tick, I said stay away
American Dog Tick, listen what I say-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay

(solo)

[(Anonymous)]

that was a stupid solo