Entomology Today, December 13, 2018:

Since the arrival of the Asian longhorned tick in North America was first reported in New Jersey in early 2018, it has been found in eight other states in the U.S.

And, by the looks of a new study comparing North American habitat with the invasive tick’s native territory, it shouldn’t be a surprise if it shows up in many more.

Ilia Rochlin, Ph.D., entomologist and researcher affiliated with the Rutgers University Center for Vector Biology, studied climate data from East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, where the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) is already established, and used climate data from North America to model likely suitable habitat for the tick.

The results, published today in the Journal of Medical Entomology, suggest the Asian longhorned tick could survive in a large swath of eastern North America as well as in the coastal Pacific Northwest. READ MORE.