Sunday, March 29, 2020

Case of the Week 585

And now for something completely unrelated to COVID-19.

For those of you able to get outdoors, keep a look out for these little critters. For those of you stuck inside, you might be happy that you are missing them:


Identification?
Generously donated by Florida Fan.

12 comments:

Eagleville said...

Ixodes scapularis nymph.
They've been actively biting here in Northeastern CT for the past 3-4 wks already. One patient had one attached to the upper eyelid in the crease. Here's a link to a photo of the device I used to remove it (https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPTbtnhuKmrk5woB6LLEikqu2mW0M5JhxSH0nWt)

Anonymous said...

Ixodes sp. female.
The porous areas at the base of the capitulum are perfectly visible on the dorsal side and the genital opening on the ventral side, which distinguishes them from the nymphs. I am not sure which species of Ixodes it is, so I will await the more qualified opinion of other colleagues.
In our area there are Ixodes ricinus that remind me morphologically to the pictures we see in this case.
Luis.

Idzi P. said...

Tick! (tack, tock...)
Small scutum suggests it's a female.
Presence of scutum combined with perianal groove tell me its Ixodes species.
No idea about the exact species though...

FP Burlington, VT said...

With mouth parts longer than basis and a nice square basis in the ventral view with smallish cornua, my bet is Ixodes scapularis. and the scutal plate size and presence of a genital pore make this a female. Coloration is also a help.

Anonymous said...

For sure this is unanimously agreed upon as an identification. The pandemic COVID-19 assuredly gave us cabin fever and we got "ticked" too!
Dr. Pritt cannot make a better choice for unknown than this.
Florida Fan

Kosta Y. Mumcuoglu said...

It should be Ixodes scapularis (deer tick) female (genital opening visible): a. The tick was apparently found in Florida and this tick is distributed in the eastern part of the USA; b. the mouth parts, scutum etc. are characteristic for this tick and not Ixodes pacificus, which could be found in the western parts of the USA (See also: https://tickencounter.org/tick_identification/tickid_nonflash);
c. Ixodes ricinus is an European species

BISHAL said...

Hard tick..ixodes

R Pesapane said...

That is most definitely an adult female Ixodes scapularis, common names "deer tick" or "black legged tick"

@franon said...

Female Ixodes tick

Havard Lambert said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Havard Lambert said...

Hi!

Ixodes scapularis (or Deer Tick)
Adult (8 legs)
The head has two long palpae that look like paddles with an equally long hypostome.
Female because of the dark brown scutum on the doral side.

Questing time for Nymphs!

-Havard Lambert

LizbizCA said...

Hello, I don't mean to barge in on your fabulously fascinating blog as I have no education or training in parasitology other than via Dr Google AND YOU ALL, but I had to "Hop" on this one as my white male cat (Larry) unbeknownst to him, presented, on my kitchen counter no less, with what my friend called "A bug" on his rear right flank atop his thick furry coat. Though I had never seen one of these dreadful hitchikers in person, I knew in an instant that I was in the presence of greatness... in a sense... Ixodes Scapularis, the black-legged deer tick! I live in Riverside, CA less than 2 miles from the University of California Riverside, one of the leading schools in etymology (Rick Vetter though I believe he's now retired!) Coincidentally UCR also has a degree program in parasitology (Prof Alec Garry heads that up the program I believe).

Only this morning did I discover this blog, it's owner/author and all of you rather knowledgeable and humorous participants. From a layman's perspective, this is an awesome place to put your knowledge and training to the test. And I especially love how many of you spell out your thought processes via typed words. It's all so very positive and comprehensive.

Oh and I didn't have a clue what to do with the tick. I wound up putting him in a small airtight Tupperware container and then forgot about him. Days later he was dehydrated, shriveled up. One less Ixodes Scapularis to have to contend with! Thanks for reading my gobblygook... Liz R in Riverside CA USA