Bush Tick
Haemaphysalis longicornis
Bush Tick
This pest is in New Zealand.
General Information
The Bush tick (sometimes called the grass tick, bottle tick or New Zealand cattle tick) thrives in a moist, temperate environment.
If the ticks appear in large numbers they are usually associated with cattle, but can infest most wild animals and birds, as well as most domestic animals including horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, pigs and poultry.
Adult ticks are prevalent in spring and summer, and larvae is seen from mid-summer to mid-autumn.
Bush ticks are the only ticks with dark reddish brown legs.
Heavy infestations can cause serious blood loss and may even kill the host. Lesser infestations cause tick worry and some blood loss. Tropical breeds of cattle (Bos indicus and their crosses) are more resistant than British or European breeds (Bos taurus)
Useful Resources
Tick image courtesy of Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, unported license
Page last updated: 21 December 2011