The Gulf Coast Tick, Amblyomma maculatum (Ixodida: Ixodidae), and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia in the Highly Urbanized Northeastern United States.

We report the multi-year collection of the Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum Koch (Acaridae: Ixodida: Ixodidae) in Staten Island, New York City (NYC) as well as their detection in Brooklyn, NYC, and in Atlantic and Cumberland counties in southern New Jersey, USA. The first and most common detections were of adults, however in Freshkills Park on Staten Island larvae were also collected in a following year. The presence of larvae indicates that adults are successfully finding hosts in Staten Island.

First glimpse into the origin and spread of the Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, in the United States.

Established populations of Asian longhorned ticks (ALT), Haemaphysalis longicornis, were first identified in the United States (US) in 2017 by sequencing the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) 'barcoding' locus followed by morphological confirmation. Subsequent investigations detected ALT infestations in 12, mostly eastern, US states. To gain information on the origin and spread of US ALT, we (1) sequenced cox1 from ALT populations across 9 US states and (2) obtained cox1 sequences from potential source populations [China, Japan and Republic of Korea (ROK) as well as Australia, New Zealand and the Kingdom of Tonga (KOT)] both by sequencing and by downloading publicly available sequences in NCBI GenBank.

Environmental Determinants of Abundance at a Northern Limit of Its Range in the United States.

is a vector of arboviruses with high rates of morbidity and mortality. The northern limit of in the northeastern United States runs through New York state (NYS) and Connecticut. We present a landscape-level analysis of mosquito abundance measured by daily counts of from 338 trap sites in 12 counties during May-September 2017.

Enhancement of Risk for Lyme Disease by Landscape Connectivity, New York, New York, USA.

Most tickborne disease studies in the United States are conducted in low-intensity residential development and forested areas, leaving much unknown about urban infection risks. To understand Lyme disease risk in New York, New York, USA, we conducted tick surveys in 24 parks throughout all 5 boroughs and assessed how park connectivity and landscape composition contribute to Ixodes scapularis tick nymphal densities and Borrelia burgdorferi infection. We used circuit theory models to determine how parks differentially maintain landscape connectivity for white-tailed deer, the reproductive host for I.

Multistate Infestation with the Exotic Disease-Vector Tick Haemaphysalis longicornis - United States, August 2017-September 2018.

Haemaphysalis longicornis is a tick indigenous to eastern Asia and an important vector of human and animal disease agents, resulting in such outcomes as human hemorrhagic fever and reduction of production in dairy cattle by 25%. H. longicornis was discovered on a sheep in New Jersey in August 2017 (1).

A Taxonomic Checklist and Relative Abundance of the Mosquitoes of New York City.

This is the 1st time that a comprehensive checklist of the mosquitoes of New York City has been compiled. This list is based on an arrayed collection of 2.3 million mosquitoes trapped and identified from 1,369 locations in the city between 2000 and 2017.

Decelerating spread of West Nile virus by percolation in a heterogeneous urban landscape.

Vector-borne diseases are emerging and re-emerging in urban environments throughout the world, presenting an increasing challenge to human health and a major obstacle to development. Currently, more than half of the global population is concentrated in urban environments, which are highly heterogeneous in the extent, degree, and distribution of environmental modifications. Because the prevalence of vector-borne pathogens is so closely coupled to the ecologies of vector and host species, this heterogeneity has the potential to significantly alter the dynamical systems through which pathogens propagate, and also thereby affect the epidemiological patterns of disease at multiple spatial scales.

Studies on hibernating populations of Culex pipiens from a West Nile virus endemic focus in New York City: parity rates and isolation of West Nile virus.

A 3-year study was undertaken to examine the parity status, survival, and prevalence of West Nile virus (WNV) in overwintering populations of Culex pipiens pipiens collected from a hibernaculum located in a WNV endemic region in New York City. Nearly 6,000 females were collected from December through April. Parity rates were highest among females collected in December and January, ranging from 12.

Description of a Culex pipiens gynandromorph from New York City.

Morphology and internal anatomy of a Culex pipiens L. bipolar gynandromorph that was collected on September 3, 2005 in a gravid trap at Springfield Park in the borough of Queens, New York City, NY is presented. The head of the mosquito possessed male palpi, compared to the rest of the body, which had female anatomical and morphological characteristics.