In Minnesota, there are about a dozen different types of ticks. Not all of them spread disease. Three types that people may come across in Minnesota are the blacklegged tick aka deer tick , the American dog tick aka wood tick , and the lone star tick. The blacklegged tick causes by far the most tickborne disease in Minnesota. People in Minnesota are often bitten by American dog ticks but they rarely spread diseases.
American dog ticks may spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. Lone star ticks are rarely found in Minnesota, but can spread diseases such as ehrlichiosis and tularemia. The blacklegged tick, shown in the lower right, is much smaller than the American dog tick, shown in the upper right.
The lone star tick is shown in the upper left of this photo and is a little smaller than the American dog tick but larger than the blacklegged tick.
Blacklegged ticks live for about two to three years. During their entire lifetime, they will only have up to three blood meals. The picture below shows that the life cycle begins when the female lays eggs.
As the egg matures, it develops into a larva right-middle , then a nymph top-middle and finally, an adult male or female bottom-right. In the spring of their first year, eggs hatch into larvae.
