Female lone star tick

This female lone star tick, or Amblyomma americanum, was collected in Maryland. Lone star ticks can transmit the pathogens that cause diseases such as ehrlichiosis and Southern tick-associated rash illness, or STARI. Bites from juvenile lone star ticks have been associated with alpha-gal syndrome, which causes a rare allergy to a component of red meat. Credit: NIAID (Photo by: IMAGE POINT FR/NIH/NIAID/BSIP //Universal Images Group via Getty Images)