Female "lone star tick", Amblyomma americanum
Female "lone star tick", Amblyomma americanum. An Ixodes or "hard" tick, A. americanum is found through the southeast and south-central states, and has been shown to transmit the spirochete, Borrelia lonestari, the pathogen responsible for causing a Lyme disease-like rash known as "Southern tick-associated rash illness" (STARI). Representatives from all three of its life stages aggressively bite people in the southern Research indicates that live spirochetes are observed in only 1-3% of specimens. Note the characteristic lone star marking located centrally on its dorsal surface, at the distal tip of its scutum.
Size: 3671px × 4682px
Photo credit: © Scott Camazine / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: amblyomma, americanum, borrelia, lonestari, pathogen, spirochete, stari
