Crowdsourced Tick Images
TickSpotters identified common tick species with an accuracy of over 98 percent. This is not always easy to do, as these photos show. The image at left shows a female blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) from Clinton, New Jersey, that has been feeding for about three days. The image at right shows a female American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) from Plymouth, Michigan, that has been feeding for about four to five days. Note that both ticks have a dorsal shield called a scutum and that the scutum looks different in these species. (Photos courtesy of Thomas Mather, Ph.D.)