Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) Parasitizing Canines and Deer in Arkansas

Increased occurrence of tick-borne diseases requires the surveillance of tick species associated with humans and the animals they contact. Tick species were collected from canines and deer throughout Arkansas by veterinarians during December 2006 to October 2007, while personnel with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission collected ticks from hunter-killed deer throughout the 2007 hunting season (Oct-Dec). Five tick species were collected: Ixodes scapularis Say (51%), Amblyomma americanum (L.) (22%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille) (12%), A. maculatum (Koch) (7%), Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (6%), and unidentified Amblyomma species (2%). Tick collections from canines were A. americanum (45%), whereas 89% of ticks collected from deer were I. scapularis. These 2 tick species also were found simultaneously infesting the same canine and deer hosts. Our data identify 5 tick species and update the current distribution of each species that may be involved in the Arkansas tick-borne disease cycle.