I enjoyed a pleasant morning of birding at Huntley Meadows with Larry
Cartwright and Rich Rieger today. No remarkable avifauna to report, but
one arachnid sighting might be worth mentioning. I found a tick
crawling up my arm about 2 hours after arriving home.
Curious about the early date for ticks I consulted a newly acquired
book, OUTWITTING TICKS, by Suisan Carol Hauser. She say says adult I.
scapularis, the ones that carry Lyme Disease are around from October to
December, sometimes March into May. So it appears that March is not too
early to begin watching for ticks. (The nymphs begin targeting us in
late May and stay around until early July when it's the larvae's turn
until early September.)
I'm pretty sure the tick I found today, which never lived to enjoy the
third of the three meals of its life, was an adult male since it seemed
to be smaller than many I've seen. Just learned from reading this book
that males are smaller than females.
Hope this doesn't portend a long and active tick season this year.
Birders beware!
Paula Sullivan
Alexandria, VA
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