The Asian longhorned tick Haemaphysalis longicornis poses significant threats to livestock and wildlife health – they can transmit Theileria orientalis Ikeda to cattle, have a wide host range, and feed aggressively. Interactions between H. longicornis and animal hosts can prioritize animal sampling and improve our understanding of host utilization. Records of H. longicornis occurrence on animal hosts in the US were collected from several state and federal wildlife agencies and compiled into a database maintained by USDA-APHIS Veterinary Services. Between 2010-2024, 17,990 ticks were collected from 983 animals. All life stages of H. longicornis were found more often on mammals compared to avian hosts, comprising 97.7% of collections. Females, nymphs, and larvae utilized similar numbers of unique animal species, 21, 27, and 28 hosts, respectively. Females and nymphs were typically confined to large and medium hosts, but larvae were found on animals of all sizes. Out of 27 possible mammal hosts, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) had the most reports of H. longicornis (n = 225), however, raccoons (Procyon lotor) had the greatest number of ticks reported on one species of host (n = 5,894, mean = 33.5). Haemaphysalis longicornis were found on 13 avian species, with red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) having the highest numbers and mean numbers of ticks reported (n = 233, mean = 20.3 and n = 133, mean = 44.3, respectively). This study highlights the variety of hosts that H. longicornis may parasitize.
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.jpg "Karen Poh (she/her/hers) photo")