# Lone star tick

*Amblyomma americanum*

**Identification confidence:** Identifiable with care — The female's single white dot is unmistakable; males and nymphs are harder.

## How to recognise it

- Adult females carry a single conspicuous white or cream spot in the centre of the back — the "lone star" — which is unmistakable and needs no magnification.
- Males have faint white streaking or horseshoe-shaped markings around the rear margin instead of a single spot.
- Reddish-brown, rounded, 3 to 5 mm unfed, with long visible mouthparts.

## What it leaves behind

- Ticks found in wooded and shrubby areas of the Southeast and lower Midwest.
- Notably aggressive host-seeking; this species actively approaches a host, which most ticks do not.

## Why an infestation persists

Transmits ehrlichiosis and several other agents, and bites from this species are associated with alpha-gal syndrome — an acquired allergy to mammalian meat that can develop after a bite. That association is the main reason this identification matters to the public, and it is a genuinely unusual consequence worth knowing about.


## Where it occurs

The Southeast, lower Midwest, and mid-Atlantic, with the range expanding northward.

## What prevents it

- Check promptly and thoroughly after time outdoors in the species' range.
- Maintain mown, clear borders between lawn and wooded or brushy areas.

## Commonly confused with

- **American dog tick** (*Dermacentor variabilis*) — The shield behind the head carries conspicuous white or silvery mottled ornamentation, unlike the blacklegged tick's solid dark shield.
- **Blacklegged tick** (*Ixodes scapularis*) — Adult females have a solid dark reddish-orange abdomen with a distinct solid black shield behind the head, and no white markings or ornamentation.

**Verdict:** prevention-first. Prompt checks and edge habitat management are the measures that reduce exposure.

Source: https://againstpest.shop/identify/ticks/lone-star-tick/