Ixodes scapularis: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Ixodes scapularis lives – recorded in 2 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ixodes scapularis
Group	Spiders, scorpions & other arachnids
Found in	2 countries
Continents	North America
Class	Arachnid
Order	Ixodida
Family	Ixodidae

Where does the Ixodes scapularis live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Ixodes scapularis in 2 countries and territories across North America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the Ixodes scapularis?

The Ixodes scapularis (Ixodes scapularis) is an arachnid in the order Ixodida and the family Ixodidae, genus Ixodes. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Ixodes scapularis

Ixodes scapularis is a hard-bodied tick found in much of the eastern half of North America. Its common name is the black-legged tick, although it is sometimes known by the misnomer deer tick because its adult life stages frequently feed on white-tailed deer. In 1979, ticks found associated with Babesiosis in the northeastern US were given the scientific name Ixodes dammini and the common name deer tick. In 1993, it was shown that Ixodes dammini was the same as a previously identified species, Ixodes scapularis, from the southeastern US, which already had the common name black-legged tick.

The black-legged tick is a vector for several diseases: Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and Powassan virus disease. It is also known to parasitize mice, lizards, migratory birds, etc. especially while the tick is in the larval or nymphal stage.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Ixodes scapularis (revision 1374800794), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1497962 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).