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Unexpected winter questing activity of ticks in the Central Midwestern United States

Authors :
Roger W. Stich
Gary P. Anderson
Roman R. Ganta
Ali Hroobi
Gunavanthi Boorgula
John A. Harrington
Ram K. Raghavan
Doug Goodin
Zoe L. Koestel
Source :
PLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 11 (2021), PLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 11, p e0259769 (2021), PLoS ONE
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2021.

Abstract

Unexpected questing activity of ticks was noted during the winter months of January and February in the Central Midwestern states of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. From nine geographically distinct locations, four species of ticks were collected using the flagging method, of which the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, was most abundant, followed by the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, the Gulf coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, and the Black legged tick, Ixodes scapularis. More A. americanum nymphs were caught questing than male or female adults. The winter activity of these medically important ticks in this region poses concern for public health and offers an insight into future tick activity in light of ongoing climate change. More studies on the seasonality of these tick species, and how different climate parameters affect their seasonal activity in this region are warranted and would be expected to benefit for both human and veterinary medicine.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19326203
Volume :
16
Issue :
11
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
PLoS ONE
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....caf204be27dad3a18f39e302d85af1d8