Black-legged ticks in the southeast U.S. prefer to feed on lizards, particularly skinks. Skinks don’t transmit Lyme as easily as the white-footed mice in the northeast U.S. Jean Tsao, a disease ecologist, and her team found a clear divide in ticks’ preferred hosts and behavior south of Virginia, matching the pattern of both tick infections and Lyme disease.
Source: Science, February 5, 2021. Link. The research team observed that northeastern and southeastern ticks also seek hosts differently. In the south, the bugs stayed under the forest litter to avoid dehydration from the heat. Northern ticks were more outgoing, climbing onto leaves and twigs, where they were much more likely to encounter and bite humans.
