New exotic tick spreading through eastern U.S

[Still Waters]

TO THE NAKED eye, the Asian longhorned tick isn’t much different than other ticks found in the United States: It too has eight legs, a round body, and mouthparts that latch onto its chosen host. But this arachnid is native to East Asia—where it has been shown to spread disease—and it’s quickly moving through the eastern part of the country.

It’s also the first new invasive tick species that the country has seen in some 50 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The first U.S. specimen was found in August of last year, in New Jersey. Already they’ve been identified in eight more states, from Connecticut to Arkansas, and the expansion seems poised to continue. A study published December 13 in the Journal of Medical Entomology shows that a wide swathe of North America has favorable conditions for the arachnids.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/12/new-invasive-tick-spreading-through-united-states/

[zep73]

It's funny how everybody loves nature, although it's constantly trying to kills us 

[Princess Serenity]

Greeeaat. First bedbugs and now a tick. |: I hate bugs!

Edited December 13, 2018 by Princess Serenity

[+susieice]

Pennsylvania has already issued a warning.

https://www.abc27.com/news/local/new-invasive-tick-species-found-in-pennsylvania/1336922072

[freetoroam]

Quote

Nobody is quite sure how the first Asian longhorned tick arrived in the U.S.

-------

But one key contributor to its rapid spread is the fact that females can reproduce through cloning themselves, without the need for mating, a process called parthenogenesis. 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/12/new-invasive-tick-spreading-through-united-states/

Oh dear, well it could have come through in someones suitcase or brought in by some scientist to test how this parthenogenesis could be used in humans. 

you never know what tests are being done.

but it looks as if this thing is not going back. Trump aint getting rid of this invasive specimen. 

[aztek]

it's been in ny papers for few years,  we have plenty of ticks in ny.   i spray permethrin all over property when season starts,

[+Hammerclaw]

Well, I'm ticked off.

[SHaYap]

I wonder when and how the ticks got to Asia in the first place ...

~

[Wistman]

On 12/14/2018 at 1:42 AM, third_eye said:

I wonder when and how the ticks got to Asia in the first place ...

~

Must've floated over after Atlantis sunk.

[SHaYap]

10 minutes ago, The Wistman said:

Must've floated over after Atlantis sunk.

That must be the reason why they're so tough to eradicate, they survived one of the greatest cataclysms the world has never seen

~

[Wistman]

2 minutes ago, third_eye said:

That must be the reason why they're so tough to eradicate, they survived one of the greatest cataclysms the world has never seen

~

Yup.  Those atlantean bugs were mighty beasts.  Some say they were descended from immortal bugs! 

[HollyDolly]

Oh great, don't know what's worse,ticks or the fire ants that we get around here. They could have come over in  some ships cargo hold , or some  imported exotic animal maybe.Unless some idiot decided they would make a cool pet.

[Farmer77]

9 minutes ago, HollyDolly said:

Oh great, don't know what's worse,ticks or the fire ants that we get around here. They could have come over in  some ships cargo hold , or some  imported exotic animal maybe.Unless some idiot decided they would make a cool pet.

Ticks, definitely ticks. At least with fire ants you know they're there.

Ive been fortunate to live in areas without ticks for most of my life though so I find them especially creepy.