Distribution, abundance, and seasonal activities of ticks collected from rodents and vegetation in South Carolina

Ixodid ticks were collected from live-trapped rodents and by flagging vegetation at sites in the Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain, and Coastal Zone of South Carolina from May 1994 through December 1995. A total of 1,514 ticks was recovered from 237 live-trapped rodents. Host-attached species included Ixodes minor Neumann (n = 818), Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (n = 346), Amblyomma maculatum Koch (n = 209), Ixodes affinis Neumann (n = 89), and Ixodes scapularis Say (n = 52). Species of questing adult ticks collected from vegetation were Ix. scapularis (n = 1,627), Amblyomma americanum L. (n = 1,052), D. variabilis (n = 649), A. maculatum (n = 134), Ix. affinis (n = 70), and Dermacentor albipictus (Packard) (n = 3). Geographic distribution and seasonal activities of most stages and species are presented. This report includes the first detailed description of the seasonal activities of all active stages of Ix. minor in the United States, and documents that this tick is well established in the southern Coastal Zone of South Carolina.