HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Previous events

TaxonomyBrowse

Info

ImagesLinksBooksData

Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Chelicerates (Chelicerata) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Mites and Ticks (Acari) » Parasitiformes » Ticks (Ixodida) » Hard Ticks (Ixodidae) » Dermacentor » American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

Species Dermacentor variabilis - American Dog Tick

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited

American Dog Tick - Dermacentor variabilis - male

Came to my window - Dermacentor variabilis - male

Dorsal view - Dermacentor variabilis - male

wood tick - Dermacentor variabilis - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)

Class Arachnida (Arachnids)

Subclass Acari (Mites and Ticks)

Superorder Parasitiformes

Order Ixodida (Ticks)

Family Ixodidae (Hard Ticks)

Genus Dermacentor

Species variabilis (American Dog Tick)

Other Common Names

Wood Tick

Explanation of Names

Dermacentor variabilis Say, 1821

Size

Adults - 5mm; engorged females can be 12mm(1)

Identification

|--------Male--------|------Female-------|

Range

Eastern N.A., but also in some areas along the Pacific Coast (CA and perhaps into OR). Please see this CDC link which also includes approximate range maps for other tick species.

Season

Adults are most abundant in spring and summer in the North and are scarce after August; in the South they occur throughout the year (1)

Food

Gray squirrel, among other mammals

Larvae and nymphs feed mainly on rodents; the adults feed mainly on dogs, horses, hogs, cattle, and many wildlife (1)

Life Cycle

Females lay eggs in various places cute never on the host; the young seek out their host after hatching (1)

Remarks

Can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia to humans and anaplamosis to cattle (1)

See Also

|--------Male--------|------Female-------|

Gulf Coast Tick - Amblyomma maculatum

Found particularly along the Gulf and South Atlantic coastlines.

Internet References

Featured Creatures - University of Florida

CDC Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria

Works Cited

1.	Eastern Forest Insects Whiteford L. Baker. 1972. U.S. Department of Agriculture · Forest Service.

Contributed by Tony DiTerlizzi on 23 April, 2005 - 9:52am
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Beatriz Moisset, Lynette Elliott, Hartmut Wisch, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, pfeiffer, Harsi S. Parker, Marci Hess
Last updated 12 July, 2023 - 12:48pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version