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The Wild Pest
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Ticks & Mites

The smallest big problems. Disease vectors, food-spoilers, and surprisingly diverse.

10 on file

On File
A black-legged deer tick (Ixodes scapularis), small reddish-brown body with dark legs.
Outlaw
Six Legs81
Alias
Ixodes scapularis

Black-Legged (Deer) Tick

Cements herself to your skin for 3 days. Carries Lyme disease. Range expanding north 50 km a decade.

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On File
A varroa mite (Varroa destructor) on a honey bee, small reddish-brown shield-shaped body.
Apex Outlaw
Six Legs78
Alias
Varroa destructor

Varroa Mite

1.6 mm parasite. Single greatest threat to global honey bees. Costs beekeepers $2B a year.

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On File
A female Asian blue cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus), reddish-brown tick with slightly bluish coloration, eight legs, top view.
Outlaw
Six Legs83
Alias
Rhipicephalus microplus

Asian Blue Cattle Tick

Most damaging tick species globally. $20-30B annual cattle losses. Successfully eradicated from US in 1943.

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On File
A female sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus), small reddish-brown tick with darker legs, eight legs, top view.
Outlaw
Six Legs85
Alias
Ixodes ricinus

Sheep Tick (Castor Bean Tick)

Primary European LYME DISEASE vector. Also vectors tick-borne ENCEPHALITIS VIRUS. 65K+ Lyme cases/year in Europe.

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On File
A female American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), reddish-brown tick with small ornate white-or-gray dorsal scutum behind the head, eight legs, top view.
Outlaw
Six Legs83
Alias
Dermacentor variabilis

American Dog Tick

Major NA vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Also tick paralysis. Wood-tick of NA hiking trails.

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On File
A female lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), small reddish-brown tick with a single large white or silver 'lone star' spot in the center of the dorsal scutum, eight legs, top view.
Outlaw
Six Legs85
Alias
Amblyomma americanum

Lone Star Tick

Bite makes you ALLERGIC TO MAMMALIAN MEAT. Alpha-gal syndrome — discovered 2009.

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On File
A two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae), tiny pale yellow-green oval mite with eight short legs and two distinctive dark spots on the body, magnified specimen.
Outlaw
Six Legs77
Alias
Tetranychus urticae

Two-Spotted Spider Mite

0.5 mm. Damages 1,100+ plant species. Genome reveals extreme detox-gene arsenal — resistant to almost every miticide.

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On File
A red velvet mite (Trombidium holosericeum), bright crimson-red velvety body with eight short legs, on dark soil substrate.
Beneficial
Six Legs76
Alias
Trombidium holosericeum

Red Velvet Mite

Crimson velvety mite. Appears in masses after rainstorms. Predator and traditional Indian medicine.

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On File
A chigger larva (Trombicula alfreddugesi), tiny bright orange-red rounded body with six short legs.
Outlaw
Six Legs81
Alias
Trombicula alfreddugesi

Chigger (Harvest Mite)

Larva liquefies your skin and drinks it through a tube. The 'burrow into the skin' myth is false.

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On File
A scanning-electron-style illustration of a house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus), pale rounded body with eight stubby legs and visible chelicerae.
Outlaw
Six Legs77
Alias
Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus

House Dust Mite

0.3 mm. 10 million in your mattress. Eats your dead skin. Major asthma trigger worldwide.

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