Amblyomma cajennense

Amblyomma cajennense
AKA the cayenne tick

The cayenne tick has a wide-spread distribution in warmer climates and is claimed to be among the world’s most important ticks in terms of being a human disease vector. These images were provided thanks to this species being encountered while doing field work in South Texas.

 

More images of those two beauties.
Notice how long their mouth parts are? This is part of why the bite from these ticks really hurts when compared to some other tick species.

My first encounter with this species was actually not noticed until after returning home when I found five nymphs I had missed. Two were destroyed during removal.

These can carry a BUNCH of serious problems including tularemia, rocky mountain spotted fever and assorted rickettsias. I was really lucky. Those five only gave me Ehrlichia which a simple round of antibiotics cleared up promptly.