Appearance
It is a member of the phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida. The adult lone star tick is sexually dimorphic, named for a silvery-white, star-shaped spot or "lone star" present near the center of the posterior portion of the adult female shield; adult males conversely have varied white streaks or spots around the margins of their shields.
Naming
''A. americanum'' is also referred to as the turkey tick in some Midwestern U.S. states, where wild turkeys are a common host for immature ticks. It is the primary vector of ''Ehrlichia chaffeensis'', which causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis, and ''Ehrlichia ewingii'', which causes human and canine granulocytic ehrlichiosis. Other disease-causing bacterial agents isolated from lone star ticks include ''Francisella tularensis'', ''Rickettsia amblyommii'', and ''Coxiella burnetti''.
Habitat
The lone star tick is widely distributed across the East, Southeast, and Midwest United States. It lives in wooded areas, particularly in second-growth forests with thick underbrush, where white-tailed deer reside. Lone star ticks can also be found in ecotonal areas such as those between forest and grassland ecosystems. The lone star tick uses thick underbrush or high grass to attach to its host by way of questing. Questing is an activity in which the tick climbs up a blade of grass or to the edges of leaves and stretches its front legs forward, in response to stimuli from biochemicals such as carbon dioxide or heat and vibration from movement, and mounts the passing host as it brushes against the tick's legs. Once attached to its host, the tick is able to move around and select a preferred feeding site.The tick has also been reported, outside of its range, in areas of Southern Ontario, including in London, Wellington County and the Region of Waterloo.
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