Wild About Illinois Ticks!
Ticks are invertebrate animals. They are classified in the Phylum Arthopoda. Arthropods are invertebrate animals with jointed legs, an exoskeleton and a segmented body. This group contains a huge number of species, from scorpions to crayfish. Ticks are further classified in the smaller groups, the Class Arachnida, Subclass Arachnida (scorpions, pseudoscorpions, spiders, daddy-long legs, mites and ticks) and Order Ixodida (mites and ticks). Thirteen species of ticks live in Illinois, but only about six of them are seen regularly by people.
American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis)
brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus)
black-legged or deer tick (Ixodes scapularis)
Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum)
winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus)
More Information
Illinois Department of Public Health - 217-782-2016.
Illinois ticks surveillance maps Internet site.
Monthly Podcast: Ticks of Illinois
Ticks and Tick-borne Disease Agents in Illinois Webinar.
Click here for the Ticks of Illinois Kids for Conservation® page.