Bush Tick (female)
Haemaphysalis longicornis
-27.5085, 153.018
Field Notes
Description:
Aka cattle tick and scrub tick. My original ID for this spotting was Australian paralysis tick (ixodes holocyclus), but now seems less likely, although still the same family group "Ixodidae." Thanks for info from fellow member Christine Y. Regardless, this tick was feeding on "me"! I sprayed it with tropical-strength insect repellent and after a short time it pretty-much fell off, so I didn't need to remove it with tweezers. A common species of tick in Eastern Australia, their natural hosts include native animals such as bandicoots, possums, koalas, kangaroos and wallabies, reptiles, etc., but they will also infest livestock, cats and dogs, and people. They can make the host very ill if not detected early and cause paralysis by injecting neurotoxins into the host. They are known to be a disease vector, and can transmit Theileriosis to cattle, and of rick to humans are Lyme spirochetes, spotted fever group rickettsiae, and Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Anaplasma bovis. Regarding Lymes Disease, there is a similar disease found in Australia, but is not recognised as Lymes Disease.
Habitat:
Found this one when I was back in Brisbane, but it was most likely picked it up in the Ballandean area of the Granite Belt, SEQ. They are found in a variety of habitats across the humid coastal regions of eastern Australia, particularly wet sclerophyll forests and temperate rainforest areas. Ticks will usually be found on vegetation such as long grass or the branches of shrubs, and wait for a potential host to brush by.
Notes:
I know this is a female tick because it's only the females that engorge. Males don't engorge. They have very short mouth parts that are more suited to feeding from the female. The male tick does not pose a medical risk to humans or animals, although the presence of a male could also indicate the presence of a female.
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