This virus, called Heartland virus, was identified in 2012 and as of March 2014, eight cases have been identified among residents of Missouri and Tennessee. Some other diseases associated with lone star ticks are ehrlichiosis, tularemia and a virus suspected to be transmitted by lone star ticks. This rash, if also involving fatigue, headache, fever, muscle and joint pains is a condition called southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). Lone star ticks are able to transmit several tick-borne diseases however, they do not transmit Lyme disease even though people bitten by lone star ticks sometimes develop a rash that is similar to the Lyme disease rash. Diseases Transmitted by Lone Star Tick Bites Primarily active in May and June, the lone star tick can become active on warm days during the winter and early spring. The nymphs repeat the questing procedure used by the larvae, except after dropping from their host, nymphs molt into adult ticks. After securing a host, the larva attaches blood-feeds for about 1-3 days drops off the host and soon molts into an eight-legged nymph. Lone star tick larvae exhibit a behavior known as questing and climb on an object or plant and wait for a host to pass by. Eggs will hatch into six-legged larvae and soon begin searching for a host. Such a habitat best enables the eggs to survive. After a few days, the female lays over 5,000 eggs in a protected area with high humidity, like under leaf litter. The life cycle for a lone star tick begins after a female tick consumes a blood meal and drops off its host. ![]() Hosts commonly infested by lone star ticks are humans, domesticated animals such as cattle, dogs and horses, ground-dwelling birds, squirrels, opossums and raccoons, plus white-tailed deer and coyotes. ![]() ![]() After feeding once in each stage, the tick falls to the ground and molts or a fertile adult female lays eggs. Lone star ticks are three-host ticks, meaning they take a blood meal from different hosts when in their larval, nymphal and adult stages. Amblyomma americanum frequently is located in second-growth woodland habitats, especially where the white-tail deer populations are plentiful. Also, the tick is reportedly found in other areas and is known to be expanding its range both northward and westward. Found across the U.S., the lone star tick is primarily distributed throughout the eastern, southeastern, and midwestern portions of the country.
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