I'm pretty sure this is a tick. Just not sure what kind.
I found it (attached to me) in Bucks County (southeastern) Pennsylvania.
The white reflective-looking regions are from the lighting -- sorry about that. I think the multiple images give a sense of the coloring, though.
Given what's often found in this region, I was thinking it's possibly a dog tick or a deer tick.
Thank you so much for the help!
Definitely a tick; looks to me more like an Amblyomma sp. than either a deer tick or wood tick. See the diagram at http://holmes.osu.edu/sites/holmes/files/imce/Program_Pages/ANR/Ohio_Tick_Spot_ID.pdf
This tick doesn't have the big white spot that's found on those lone star ticks, though?
(As I'd noted, the white reflection was from the lighting when the photo was taken -- in the different images, you can see that there isn't a white mark on the back in a consistent spot.)
Did something else lead you to think it's Amblyomma?
Primarily the shape of the palps. And not all have that spot...
Its the third phase of tickdom, about to die and explode into the tiny seed ticks. I drop mine into a small cup of rubbing alcohol. With a lid.
Awaiting confirmation from the lab. I'll update when I have the info. Thanks.
Unfortunately the lab did NOT type the tick before testing it -- and they only tested it for Lyme's (which it didn't carry).
Does this look like a Lone Star for sure? Anyone else think so? Thanks.
For a positive i.d on this tick, one would need to see a ventral as well as a dorsal view, as well as a clear close-up image of the head region. That aside, I do not believe that this is a lone star tick, but its palps still look like those of an Amblyomma to me. Then, there are Ixodes sp. other than the deer tick that could occur in your area.
Unfortunately I didn't know to take photos of the underside before taking the tick to the doctor, and as I mentioned the lab didn't type it (and they already pulverized it).
Sorry, I misunderstood, I thought Amblyomma was Lone Star. So you're saying Amblyomma but NOT Lone Star, or possibly an Ixodes other than deer.
Not sure what it was, then. :( SO many Amblyomma (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/integumentary_system/ticks/amblyomma_spp.html)
In my area, these are common:
http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/ticks
My apologies if I inadvertently caused some confusion here - when I said that the palps of your tick looked more like those of an Amblyomma sp. than any of the other genera, I did not intend to imply that it therefore automatically was a lone star tick. Also, although there are indeed species in that genus that lack the characteristic white spot of the lone star tick, those would be very unlikely to occur in your area. All that aside, a clear ventral view would have cleared up any confusion. Should you encounter any more ticks, please bear that in mind.
