Lone Star Tick

As the picture above shows, the lone star tick is named for the single white dot on the center of the tick's back. This dot only appears on the females; the males actually have small white streaks or horseshoe-shaped markings on their backs. While the males are slightly smaller, the females grow to be about an 1/8 of an inch and both are a reddish-brown color. Ticks are oval or slightly tear-drop shaped (or roughly the size and shape of a watermelon seed). As they are arachnids, they have eight legs instead of the typical six you'd expect from an insect.

 

Ticks are notoriously hard to kill due to their exoskeleton being so hard, like shell of protection. They are also resistant to water (surviving three days fully submerged) and can survive freezing temperatures. They can also go long periods of time without feeding. Disgustingly, when ticks are engorged (full of blood), they can get to be almost a half-inch long and they are so stretched out they turn a grayish color.

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To learn more about lone star ticks and the diseases they carry, check out our blog post