Ticks and Mites - serious blood-feeding pests

Ticks (specifically the deer tick) may be the most feared creatures inhabiting the forests and grasslands of the northern United States. This tiny blood feeder carries a bacterium that causes an infection called Lyme disease. Often difficult to diagnose, Lyme Disease is characterized by wide ranges in both symptoms and severity (i.e., the effects can be minimal in some patients and  devastating in others).

    Does Lyme Disease exist in a chronic form and why was an effective vaccine suddenly taken off the market? And what about the transition taking place among tick species - as the heat-tolerant Lone Star tick replaces the common deer tick?



    In Dark Banquet,  the Bill Schutt addresses all of these questions and more as he details the strange biology of ticks, their relatives, the mites, and the mites' seriously nasty nymphs, the chiggers.



    Additionally, he also shares new information on Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious phenomenon that has resulted in a sharp decrease in worldwide honey bee populations. A mite, Varroa destructor, (seen above, parasitizing an adult bee and two pupae) has been implicated in the transmission of several bee viruses that may be  contributing to Colony Collapse Disorder.

Ticks

Ticks are related to spiders and mites (they're all Arachnids). They transmit several serious maladies to humans including Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever. Currently there is a transition taking place in the Northeastern U.S. where the deer tick is being replaced by the Lone Star tick. This is primarily due to hotter and drier conditions that are developing as woodlands and other natural settings are replaced by concrete and blacktop.