One of my favorite things to do in my spare time is to hang white sheets with black lights and mercury vapor lights pointed at them. I know most people try to avoid insects and would not purposely try to attract them to their yard and would absolutely find standing in a cloud of tiny insects to be offensive and not fun at all. For me, it is an opportunity to find new-to-me insects and photograph them and later research them. Yes, I am THAT nerd.

 Last night I hung the sheets and after dark I began checking them. It was not a hugely productive bug night, with one exception, the Fiery Searcher. This beetle is large and in charge. They are easily one of the most stunning beetles, plus their large size, 1 ½ inches, is sure to leave an impression. The striking iridescent green, gold, reddish-orange, blue, and purple are stunning, which explains why they are a favorite among insect collectors. They are found throughout the United States but are more prevalent east of the Rocky Mountains. In Missouri they are very common, but usually go unseen, mainly because they are nocturnal. While we are sleeping the night away these bad boys wake up and start the hunt. The common name Fiery Searcher is descriptive of their brilliant color and habit of running rapidly on the ground "searching” for their food of choice…. Caterpillars. Because they favor caterpillars in both the larval and adult stages, they have earned another common name of Caterpillar Hunter. Although classified as ground beetles, these are one of the few beetles in the family Carabidae that can easily and will readily climb trees and shrubs.

 

Having the adaptation to rapidly climb trees gives them easy access to their preferred caterpillars, which are Forest Tent Caterpillars, Gypsy Moth Caterpillars, Fall Webworms, as well as additional species of tree destroying munching caterpillars. Having this beetle in our gardens, woodlands or agricultural areas is very beneficial to us. However, this beetle is best observed and not handled. They have large mandibles that can give a nasty bite, in addition to that, they produce a foul-smelling oily substance that they will all too happily share with anyone who dares to handle them, believe me I know. I handled the one I captured last night, and my hands smelled funky for quite some time, even after multiple washings. Lesson learned, look, but don’t touch.  The odor is often described as smelling like rancid olive oil, soured milk or stinky cheese. It reminded me of a cross between skunk and strong cheese.  It is pungent! They are also incredibly difficult to catch in the first place. These impressive cheetahs of the beetle world run an incredible 0.36 MPH. That may not sound all that fast, but it is the equivalent of a six-foot-tall human running 17 MPH! Fast for a beetle!

 

 

 If you happen to spot one in your yard or on your farm, you and your natural areas are lucky. These active hunters scurry around all night terrorizing caterpillars that are feasting on your crops, and trees. Cheers to the Fiery Searcher!

American Dog Tick

One of the absolute banes of nature is the tick. Spending time outdoors engaged in your favorite activities often puts us in close proximity to these tiny 8-legged vampires. Often these encounters result in a hitchhiker making its way home via some obscure hiding place on our body. There is good reason to do a tick check after each outing, finding one of these menaces attached to your person, is at the very least annoying, and at its worst concerning. We are all aware of the various diseases these creatures can vector and spread to humans. The quicker they are located and removed, the safer we are. Unfortunately,there is no tried and true time limit to free yourself of the attached tick before disease transmission occurs. For Lyme disease typically 24-48 hours, other diseases can be spread in as few as 6 hours. All of these times vary. Faster is better in the case of tick removal. The best way to remove a tick is by using pointed tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible and pull straight out. Even if you nip your skin, that's okay, you want to ensure the head of the tick is not left behind. DO NOT try to burn the tick! 

One of the most common tick species in Missouri is the American Dog Tick, or Wood Tick (Dermacenter variabilis).  They range throughout eastern North America, with populations also confirmed in California. 

Image from CDC

Dog ticks are referred to as 3-host ticks; after hatching from their eggs they will feed on a small mammal hosts such as mice or voles. Once satiated, they will drop to the ground and wait for their next stage of development and find a larger host such as a skunk, or opossum. During the final feeding stage they will look for even larger hosts like dogs, deer, raccoons and humans (as many of us can attest to). Finding a host is number one on their mind as soon as they hatch, but should a host not present itself, no worries, they can live up to 15 months without a single feeding. Older nymphs that have experienced a meal, may live up to 20 months without an additional meal, and adults as long as 30 months!!! These relatives to the arachnids are hardy survivalist during lean times!  

There are four life stages; egg, newly hatched larva, nymph, and adult. The newly hatched larva are the size of a poppy seed, older nymphs are approximately the size of the head of a pen, and adults approximately 1/8 of an inch (unfed). The chart below illustrates the size differences for an adult female in regards to whether or not it has fed. 

https://web.uri.edu/tickencounter/species/dog-tick/

 Males also feed on blood, but not with gluttony like the female. He will partake of this sanguine deliciousness for a day or two before dropping to the ground. The female on the other hand has baby making on her mind, which drives her desire to gorge on our bodily fluid. She will feed for a week or more before becoming fully engorged, before falling into the leaf litter and begin dropping between 4,000-6,000 eggs . This process may take as much as a month to complete. Her sole purpose in life is to leave offspring behind to carry on the next generation, once this is accomplished she dies. 

They are found in a variety of grassy habitats, including forests edges, meadows, prairies, grasslands, scrub ground, and often along walking trails. Many sources say that the larvae do not feed on large hosts. All I can ask is..."have you never stepped into a newly hatched batch of seed ticks?" They will most assuredly attach to your feet, and or ankles. These ravenous little bloodsuckers will happily embed themselves into a buffet of blood if it happens by. I can recall on a hiking excursion several years ago, on one of the glade trails, at Truman Lake State Park, my husband complained of itchy ankles. Upon closer inspection we discovered his ankles were covered in pepper flake sized feasting seed ticks....100's of them!!! It took nearly an hour and a ton of duct tape to remove these minute sized hungry ticks. He itched for weeks afterward. On another occasion, while in Arkansas, hiking a trail near our rental cabin, we discovered our dog covered in tiny ticks much the same way my husband had experienced. We purchased Frontline and treated him immediately. I kid you not, in three days, our dog gave a hearty shake and hundreds of ticks fell in a pile of deceased carcasses at his feet! 

The two most common diseases vectored by the American Dog Tick are Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Tularemia. They may also vector tick paralysis, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis, as well as other diseases. 

Nearly 15 years ago I was bitten on my lower stomach by a dog tick. I discovered it when I experienced an intense itching. I pulled it out and hoped for the best. Within a few days I began feeling ill, I had a low grade fever, dizziness, and memory issues ( I couldn't remember driving to work, or how I got back home again, etc.) As the days passed symptoms changed to muscle weakness, hip and other joint pain, fatigue and profuse sweating! The slightest activity would have me looking like someone dumped a five gallon bucket of water over my head!  I could barely keep my eyes open the fatigue was so severe! I finally decided a visit to the doctor was in order. I explained to the doctor about discovering the tick and the resulting symptoms. She said that my sweating was menopause and had nothing to do with the tick bite. She prescribed me Amoxicillin. I told her I needed Doxycycline. She refused to prescribe it. I filled the script for Amoxicillin, and within two days I felt worse! I went into work and a Dr. from the CDC followed me in the door at the Nature Center where I worked. He was in the region to capture ticks for research on the newly discovered Heartlands Virus. I had been in the field with him previously to capture ticks. I pulled him aside, explained my situation and showed him the bite. He gave me his business card, and told me to return to my doctor and ask her for Doxy. If she refused, he told me to give her his card and she could contact him directly. I returned to my doctors office to be greeted with "oh...you're back." I told her the medicine wasn't working and that I needed Doxycycline. She started to argue with me, so I handed her the business card from my new CDC doctor friend and explained that if she had issues with the recommended medication, to call him. Her whole attitude changed. She brought a book off the shelf and opened it to tick diseases, and as I watched her move her fingers down the pages of tick diseases, ALL of them said to treat with DOXYCYCLINE! She gave me the proper prescription, and within a few days I felt better. I guess threatening a doctor with the CDC will get you the results you should have received in the first place! I continued to relapse with symptoms every few months for years. I ended up getting a referral to an infectious disease expert when my hip pain was no better. They did blood work and I tested positive for antibodies from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever! The hip pain ended up being Progressive Osteoarthritis (another story). Because there are no tests to diagnose tick diseases, doctors must rely on testing for the antibodies your body produces to fight of a tick borne disease. My symptoms continued to return periodically for 10 years. Had I listened to my doctor (I quickly located a new one), I could have died. RMSF, left untreated, results in hospitalization in up to 70% of cases and causes death in up to 25% of cases! As far as the profuse sweating I experienced, it was not menopause related, it IS a symptom, although rare, of RMSF.

Ticks, unfortunately, are a fact of nature. I am frequently asked what purpose they serve, and the answer is elusive and can be somewhat controversial. Are they here for population control? Who knows. Do they feed hungry birds and other animals? Maybe. Or do they just exist to reproduce? For whatever reason they are here, they are not going anywhere soon. 

No need to fear being outside. My journey with RMSF has not kept me inside. I am more mindful of checking for ticks and making sure they are removed quickly. I tuck my socks in my hiking boots, and wear light colored clothes, to make spotting them easier. I use DEET on my skin and I spray my boots, and hiking clothes with Permethrin. Do not use this chemical on your skin! Gear and clothing only. It will last for months and kills ticks on contact! 

With a little precaution on your part being outdoors can be safe, enjoyable, and full of adventure, don't let the lowly bloodsucking tick steal your fun.