''Dermacentor andersoni'', commonly known as the Rocky Mountain wood tick, is a hard tick, or member of the
Ixodidae family, with three life stages including
larvae
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
,
nymph, and finally
adult
An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
, or, more entomologically,
imago. This tick is generally located in the northwest
United States and southwest
Canada along the
Rocky Mountains. This tick is generally a
vector for
Colorado tick fever, but can also be a vector for
Rocky Mountain spotted fever and
tularemia.
During the larval and nymphal stages, the tick does not feed on humans, but during the adult stage, it will. Prevention of infections associated with these ticks is based on control of exposure to the vector, including wearing proper clothing when in woods/wet areas, and checking oneself thoroughly after returning home. Adult female ticks can feed for 5 to 15 days, thus removing a tick if present is very important.
Follow general tick removal tips.
Life cycle
''Dermacentor andersoni'' is a three-host tick with larval, nymphal, and adult life stages. During each life stage, the tick takes a single blood meal from a mammalian host. The duration of the lifecycle varies between 1 and 3 years and is influenced by factors such as temperature, humidity, and host availability. From the beginning of May through June, ticks' eggs are deposited on moist vegetation after the engorged female ticks drop off their hosts. The female lays about 2500–4000 eggs over 10–33 days.
Larval ticks hatch in early summer and begin questing for small mammalian hosts, seeking the stimuli of carbon dioxide, light, temperature, and humidity. A larva may cling to a passing host with the first pair of legs, climb upwards, and then attach with its
gnathostome to the neck or shoulder region. They feed about 2–6 days. After becoming engorged, larvae drop off the host, and