Justin Talley Ph.D. Extension Livestock Entomologist Longhorned Tick Justin Talley Ph.D. Extension Livestock Entomologist

Bush Tick or Longhorned tick Haemaphysalis longicornis

Distribution of Haemaphysalis longicornis in the USA (as of 6/11/2018)

Longhorned Tick Longhorned Tick (also known as the Bush tick) is an exotic tick and has been documented as a serious pest of livestock.

Life Cycle Longhorned tick larvae emerge from eggs laid in the soil and have three active developmental stages, 6-legged larvae, 8-legged nymphs, and 8-legged adults, all feeding exclusively on animal blood. Longhorned ticks move on and off hosts three times, as the blood meal is a necessary preamble to molting to the next stage and eventually for egg development. Schematic diagram of annual temporal patterns of occurrence of the different developmental stages of H. longicornis. In bold is the standard sequence. Credit: Dina M. Fonseca, Andrea Egizi, James Occi

Preferred Hosts Ruminants Non-ruminants Wildlife Hosts Cattle Goats Sheep Deer Non-ruminants Dogs Horses Cats Rabbits Pigs Humans Wildlife Hosts Deer Raccoons Birds Opossums

Pathogens associated with the Longhorned Tick Name of disease Geographical distribution Host species affected Transmission experiments + field infected: Theileria luwenshuni Sheep theileriosis Asia sheep Babesia gibsoni Canine babesiosis Dogs Babesia ovata Babesiosis Japan cattle Babesia sp. BQ1 (Lintan strain) China Sheep, goats SFTSV Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome China/Japan Human, livestock Field infected only, found frequently: Theileria orientalis  (T. sergenti) Cattle Theileriosis Asia and Australasia Cattle, Asian buffalo Anaplasma phagocytophilum2 Anaplasmosis China, Korea Goats, water deer Anaplasma bovis Ehrlichia chaffeensis2 Ehrlichiosis Borrelia burgdorferi sl. Goats, cattle Rickettsia japonica Japanese spotted fever Human POWV Powassan Russia Humans HYSV (Huaiyangshan virus hemorrhagic fever) Pathogens associated with the Longhorned Tick Credit: Dina M. Fonseca, Andrea Egizi, James Occi 2It is unclear if these pathogens are the same as those occurring in the US, or simply in the same species complex

So how does an invasive tick impact beef production? High Impact Disease Decreased efficiency Potentially high populations (parthenogenesis)

Educational Material

Common Ticks of Oklahoma

Longhorned Tick Credit: Alan R. Walker

How to collect a tick for identification Samples to my lab should be sent in a sealable vial of 70% ethanol. To label collection tubes in the field the best method is to use lead pencil writing on strong paper or cardstock to make a small label. This is placed inside the tube with the ticks. Field collection data should include date, site, collector, and host species.

Questions www.livestockbugs.okstate.edu www.beefextension.com