Description

• Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, commonly known as the rabbit tick, is a small hard tick in the family Ixodidae. Adults are typically tan to reddish-brown, with a flattened oval body and a tough dorsal shield. Like other hard ticks, it has specialised mouthparts for attaching to a host and feeding on blood. It has three active feeding stages—larva, nymph, and adult—and generally uses a different host at each stage.

Range

• Haemaphysalis leporispalustris occurs widely throughout the Americas, from Canada and the United States through Mexico and Central America to South America. It has been recorded in Mexico.

Habitat

• This tick is associated with habitats supporting rabbits, hares, and suitable bird hosts, including woodland, scrub, grassland, and forest edges. It is commonly found on its animal hosts or in sheltered places where hosts rest and nest. Immature ticks frequently feed on ground-foraging birds and small mammals, while adults are more strongly associated with rabbits and hares.

Diet

• All active stages feed on blood. Larvae and nymphs commonly parasitise birds and small mammals, while adults primarily feed on rabbits and hares. The species can carry pathogens, including agents associated with tularemia and spotted-fever rickettsioses, but its role in transmission to humans is considered limited; its ecological importance is chiefly within wildlife host populations.