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A two-year study on the phenology, host and habitat associations, and pathogens of Haemaphysalis longicornis in Virginia, U.S.A.

Understanding the abiotic and biotic variables affecting tick populations is essential for studying the biology and health risks associated with vector species. We conducted a study on the phenology of exotic Haemaphysalis longicornis (Asian longhorned tick) at a site in Albemarle County, Virginia. We assessed the importance of available wildlife hosts, habitats, and microclimate variables such as temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed on this exotic tick’s presence and abundance. In addition, we determined the prevalence of selected tick-borne pathogens potentially transmitted by H. longicornis. We determined that the seasonal activity of H. longicornis was slightly different from previous studies in the northeastern United States. We observed nymphal ticks persist year-round but were most active in the spring, followed by a peak in adult activity in the summer and larval activity in the fall seasons. We also observed a lower probability of detecting H. longicornis in field habitats and the summer months. In addition, we detected H. longicornis on several wildlife hosts, including coyote (Canis latrans), eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), woodchuck (Marmota monax), and a Peromyscus sp. This is the first detection of this tick on a rodent host important to the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens of humans and animals. Finally, we continued to detect the exotic piroplasm parasite, Theileria orientalis Ikeda, in H. longicornis as well as other pathogens, including Rickettsia felis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (AP-1), and a Hepatozoon sp. previously characterized in Amblyomma americanum. These represent some of the first detections of arthropod-borne pathogens native to the United States in host-seeking H. longicornis. These data increase our understanding of H. longicornis biology in the United States and provide valuable information into the future health risks associated with this tick and pathogens.