A Portuguese Two Host Tick
Hyalomma m. marginatum

Dartmoor Tick Watch
Please join in!

Sponsors
Millipore (UK) Ltd, Agar Scientific Ltd
 Whatman plc, Plymstock Computers
 Compassworks, Dartmoor News

Brian Reece Scientific Ltd


Ornate Cow Tick
Dermacentor reticulatus

 

  Home Collecting kit Record sheet Results Disease statistics Photos Tick ID Safety News  Thanks Contact


Tick Diary

Tip - Ticks are required best fresh, 'fridged' or frozen.

 

1 March 2016 Present "Ticks on the Leat" at Princetown History Club, 7.30 pm - THE LAST!
Record: 9 presentations, 1 radio interview and 2 informal talks in car parks ...............
20 Aug 2014 Present "A tick can make you sickü" at Harrowbarrow Womens' Institute, 7.30 pm
17 Oct 2011 Present "A tick can make you sickü" at Tintagel Womens' Institute, 8.00 pm
5 Oct 2011 Present "A tick can make you sickü" at Princetown Womens' Institute, 8.00 pm
10 Apr 2011 ANECDOTE - The tick population in the Fordyce area of Banff, Scotland, sampled by flagging, seems not to have been affected by the heavy snowfall winters of 2009 and 2010 when sampled in March after the snow had gone.
30 Jan 2011 Identify a female Ixodes frontalis, a passerine tick.
28 Dec 2010 Provide photos and PowerPoint presentation material to Tick Talk Ireland
25 Nov 2010 PDF file of a paper entitled "First detection of spotted fever group rickettsiae in Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the UK" received from a contact at Porton Down, published in Epidemiol. Infection. The results for the UK included some from the Dartmoor ticks where Ricketsia helvetica was found  plus other Ricketsia-like species. This is the first evidence of potentially pathogenic spotted fever rickettsiae in British ticks. See Rickettsia - Wikipedia.
10 Sep 2010 Provide the Hyalomma photo for a European Commission leaflet published under the Health Cooperation Work Programme of the 7th Framework entitled "CCH Fever", about Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever.
9 Jun 2010 Present "A tick can make you sickü" at Liskeard Womens' Institute, 8.00 pm
7 Jun 2010 Present "A tick can make you sickü" at St Gennys Womens' Institute, 2.30 pm
2 Jun 2010 Present "A tick can make you sickü" at St Germans Womens' Institute, 7.00 pm
1 Jun 2010 Present "A tick can make you sickü" at Grampound Womens' Institute, 7.30 pm
11 May 2010 Deliver 2629 ticks to the Health Protection Agency - Tick Recording Scheme at Porton Down (less nymphs already delivered to University of Bath project).
4 May 2010 Attend Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases one-day conference at Halsway Manor organised by the Quantock Hills AONB Service, supported by Somerset County Council (ticks web page), West Somerset Council, Sedgemoor District Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council and Natural England.
Speakers from the University of Lincoln, Health Protection Agency - SW Zoonoses Group and Lyme Disease Action.
5 Feb 2010 Deliver ticks to the University of Bath.
1 Feb 2010 Put Dartmoor Tick Watch 2009 Final Report on the web site.
16 Jan 2010 Collect Ticks 4051-4147 from DUN - that concludes Dartmoor Tick Watch 2009.
4 Jan 2010 Collect Ticks 4036-4053 from BARN.
27 Dec 2009 Collect NO TICKS at Yarner Wood Y2 area.
Conditions: 50% grey/white clouds - mostly blue sky, after the Christmas freeze/snow (see photos below) before the 2nd snow fall, also very heavy showers in the night, also showers before and during "dragging", no breeze, 7°C
22 Dec 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Collect NO TICKS at Brisworthy Plantation
2. Collect NO TICKS at Ringmoor Down
Conditions: 25% grey/white clouds - mostly blue sky - see photos below, no breeze, 1-2°C - thermals. feeling surprising warm!

The things I do for science ..... the last scheduled blanket "dragging" at Ringmoor and Briswworthy to complete 2009! 


Parked by Brisworthy for safety - icy hill beyond!
 

View from car towards Brisworthy bracken.
 

Blanket on Brisworthy bracken litter.
 

Blanket inside Ringmoor Down stone circle.
 

View from circle across Ringmoor Down to Sheeps Tor.

Looking down on Legis Tor with Hen Tor beyond.

 

18 Dec 2009 Collect Ticks 4031-4035 from VET4
17 Dec 2009 Letter from the Cornwall Federation of Women's Institutes appointing me to speaker status, following the 25 Nov. audition.
16 Dec 2009 1. Collect NO TICKS at Ringmoor Down
2. Collect NO TICKS at Brisworthy Plantation
Conditions: grey, overcast, no breeze, 6°C - feeling surprising warm! Followed by ponies again, at Brisworthy.
13 Dec 2009 1. Collect Ticks 4020-4030 at Yarner Wood Y2 area.
Conditions: gorgeous day! Blue sky with 20% white clouds, breezes heard in the tree tops but little effect at ground level, 7°C.
ANECDOTE - warden said fewer ticks/tick bites this year - too wet for them?
11 Dec 2009 Email from Porton Down identifying Ticks 1413-1415, collected 14 May from Vet 4, as engorged Ixodes hexagonus larvae.
5 Dec 2009 The talk below seemed to be well-received, with an audience of 44. A report of the event can be seen HERE, as part of the festival that was held to celebrate John Taylor FRS, a son of Tavistock. The John Taylor Festival was supported by the Royal Society. The report is as yet unpublished but is © Copyright: Dr Ann Pulsford, John Taylor Festival Newsletter.
30 Nov 2009

 

NOTICE

Venue: The Wharf, Tavistock, Devon
2.00 - 4.30 pm, Monday 30th November

"Ticks on Dartmoor"

A Tea-time Talk by Dr Keith Ryan about ticks, Lyme disease and other tick-related health risks in the country-side
(with some humour)
followed by tea and cakes, entry £2.50
as part of the John Taylor Festival, sponsored by the Royal Society.
Pay & Display parking adjacent.

Lyme Disease Action literature will be available.

 

27 Nov 2009 Appear "live" on Gordon Spark's "Purely for Plymouth" BBC Radio Devon programme, 8.15 am, talking about ticks on Dartmoor, in advance of the John Taylor Festival presentation in Tavistock on Mon. 30th Nov.
25 Nov 2009 Give an audition presentation entitled "A tick can make you sickü" to the Cornwall Federation of Women's Institutes, Truro. Audience: "70"
24 Nov 2009 1. Collect NO TICKS at Ringmoor Down
2. Collect NO TICKS at Brisworthy Plantation
3. Collect Ticks 4010-4019 at Yarner Wood Y2 area.
4. Check Yarner Wood collecting route again with tape measure (coincidentally, repeating 27 November 2008) - 449.8 metres (compared to 451.9 m previously, discrepancy due to the lay of the tape around the outer edge of the circular track).
Conditions: Temp. 11°C, very grey overcast skies, strong wind on Ringmoor and Brisworthy routes, 'spotting' with rain, similar in Yarner Wood but little breeze although the winds was roaring in the tree-tops. November's weather has been very unfavourable to collecting ticks!
ANECDOTE   Two foresters told me they had seen fewer ticks in Yarner Wood this year
..... maybe it depends on habitat factors?
23 Nov 2009 1. Receive Tick 4009 from PRE
2. Collect at Ringmoor ....... NO TICKS
3. Collect at Brisworthy ........ NO TICKS
Conditions: After heavy rains, ground vert wet, very windy   Temp: 11 °C.

ANECDOTE 1 There are getting to be more ticks every year.
ANECDOTE 2 Ponies get ticks all year round.

19 Nov 2009 Phone call from BBC Radio Devon about an interview prior to a talk at The Wharf, Tavistock, on Mon. 30th Nov. Arrange to go in for 8.15 am Fri. 27th Nov.
16 Nov 2009 Collect at Yarner Wood Y2 area ..... NO TICKS - heavy rain the night before, heavy shower while travelling to the wood and a heavy shower while in the wood, soaking the blanket. Grey, cool, overcast, light breeze, Temp: 14°C.
9 Nov 2009 Receive Tick 4008 from PRE
6 Nov 2009 Receive Tick 4007 from ARM
30 Oct 2009 Collect Ticks 3985-4006 from VET1.
28 Oct 2009 1. Collect Ticks 3916-3924 from Ringmoor Down
2. Collect Ticks 3925-3927 from Brisworthy Plantation
Conditions: mid-morning - 15°C, grey overcast, squelchy underfoot, slight breeze, mild, warm, muggy.
3. Collect Ticks 3928-3984 from Yarner Wood Y2 area
Conditions: 16°C, 50% blue sky, no breeze, muggy.
Bracken - no new fronds, 90% brown.
23 Oct 2009 Collect Ticks 3913-3915 from JYO
17 Oct 2009 1. Call from VET1 re. the hedgehog ticks - from a bulldog puppy in the Efford area, 1 month old, never left the garden.
2. Collect Ticks 3904-3912 from BM1
17 Oct 2009 Collect Ticks 3790-3903 from VET1 - including 110 hedgehog ticks from one dog!
13 Oct 2009 1. Collect Ticks 3773-3783 on Ringmoor Down (no larvae)
2. Collect Ticks 3784-3789 at Brisworthy Bracken (10 larvae).
Conditions: 14°C (15°C after finishing Brisworthy), 70% blue sky, small white clouds, no breeze, felt warm.
10 Oct 2009 Collect Ticks 3729-3772 at Yarner Wood Y2
Conditions: 16°C, sunny, no breeze, ground still damp from heavy dew last night.
Bracken frond edges tingeing brown in places in the wood. Only 4 new bracken heads to swipe.
1 Oct 2009 Collect Tick 3728 from KSH.
27 Sep 2009 1. Collect Ticks 3710-3714 on Ringmoor Down (no larvae)
2. Collect Ticks 3715-3727 at Brisworthy Bracken (10 larvae). Bracken 95% brown.
Conditions: 15°C, fabulous day, blue sky, no breeze, dew still on long grass.
26 Sep 2009 Collect Ticks 3445-3709 at Yarner Wood Y2
Conditions: 16°C, overcast, grey, humid, occasional breeze (leaves fell then, sounding like rain).
Leaves gone from the tall bilberry but not on the collecting path.
23 Sep 2009 Collect Ticks 3439-3444 from JYO
22 Sep 2009 Collect Tick 3438 from KSH
19 Sep 2009 Collect Tick 3437 from CPF.
18 Sep 2009 Strim at BUR.
ANECDOTE - More ticks this year than ever before? Concurs with ....
ANECDOTE - More ticks this year than ever before? HARB (Bodmin Moor area).
16 Sep 2009 Receive Ticks 3435-3436 from SAMP2.
11 Sep 2009 Collect Ticks 3425-3434 from BARN.
10 Sep 2009 1. Collect on Ringmoor Down. NO TICKS.
2. Collect beside Brisworthy Plantation. NO TICKS.
3. Collect Ticks 3348-3422 at Yarner Wood Y2.
Conditions: 18°C, strong breeze on Ringmoor Down and at Brisworthy, clear blue sky, feeling warm, a beautiful day!
Perhaps 20°C in Yarner Wood, no breeze to be felt but it was in the tree tops.
9 Sep 2009 Collect Ticks 3336-3348  from VET4- but no data on record sheet
8 Sep 2009 1st blood test, follow-up on 29th (9.20 am).
7 Sep 2009 See GP, start Doxycycline.
6 Sep 2009 Collect Ticks 3289-3335 from COL
2 Sep 2009 receive Ticks 3287-3288 from SAMP2.
1 Sep 2009 1. Remove Tick 3274 from own upper arm, an engorging nymph,
    probably from Yarner Wood on 27 Aug, removed using a tick hook and frozen >>>
2. Collect Ticks 3275-3277 from JYO, Okehampton area
3. Visit VET1 - no ticks, none for Aug (since 31 July)
4. Collect Ticks 3278-3286 from BM1.
27 August 2009 1. Collect NO TICKS from Ringmoor Down, over 1,000 metres (squelchy ground after yet more rain).
2. Collect Ticks 3177-3181 beside Brisworthy Plantation, 500 metres.
3. Collect Ticks 3182-3273 at Yarner Wood Horse Circle.
Conditions: 18°C, grey clouds, some sunny periods, light breeze, no rain, ground damp.
25 August 2009 1. Collect Ticks 3173-3176 on Ringmoor Down, 1,000 metres. 4 nymphs, no larvae, no adults. Late in month due to poor weather conditions.
2. Collect NO TICKS beside Brisworthy Plantation, 500 metres. .....
Conditions: 20°C, dull, grey, some sunny periods, damp air, wet ground.
18 August 2018 August 200909 1. Receive Ticks 2904-2905 from BAI1
2. Collect Tick 2906 from JJG
17 August 2009 Collect Ticks 2906-3172 at Yarner Wood Horse Circle. NB - some BIG nymphs, 240 larvae.
Conditions: 19°C, dull, warm, humid, no breeze.
12 August 2009 Receive Ticks 2901-2903 from PEN
10 August 2009 Spend the day in the University of Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre obtaining SEM images, clickable via this page.
3 August 2009 Deliver Ticks 2589-2695 (less a few retained as "types" for my own use) to the University of Bath Biology & Biochemistry Dept.
1 August 2009 Prepare assorted tick hypostomes for SEM examination at the University of Plymouth.
31 July 2009 1. Collect Ticks 2884-2898 from VET1
2. Collect Ticks 2899-2900 from BM1.
30 July 2009 Mount assorted tick specimens for SEM.
29 July 2009 Visit the University of Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre to obtain consumables for preparing tick samples for scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
28 July 2009 1. Collect Ticks 2880-2883 on Ringmoor Down
2. Collect ticks 2884-2896 by Brisworthy Plantation - bracken still only knee-high (maximum).
Conditions: 18°C, grey cloud, sunny periods, quite windy.
25 July 2009 Collect Ticks 2798-2879 at Yarner Wood Horse Circle. NB - more adults, fewer larvae.
Conditions: 19°C, warm, dry. humid, white clouds, sunny periods. 
Rowan berries red.
23 July 2009 Collect Ticks 2696-2797 from DUN
22 July 2009 1. Receive Tick 2665 from PEN
2. Collect ticks 2666-2695 from VET1.
21 July 2009 Collect Ticks 2589-2664 from COL.
20 July 2009 1. Collect Ticks 2577-2585 on Ringmoor Down (movie link), make movies of cows (nos. 17 & 18)
2. Meet COL's sister walking dogs
3. Meet COL on road and discuss hedgehog ticks
4. Collect Ticks 2586-2588 by Brisworthy Plantation (movie link). Bracken is short, maximum is knee-high, mostly shorter - much less growth than in Yarner Wood (see this movie). Conditions: 16°C, overcast, ground damp/(dew?), no rain, slight breeze but pleasant in shirt sleeves. Blanket became somewhat damp.
5. Phone call with GMA.
19 July 2009

1. Collect Ticks 2477-2576 at Yarner Wood Horse Circle. Conditions: 17°C, damp, grey sky with sunny periods, light shower. 

2. Make movies 14-16 of the general habitat, leaf litter and showing the height that the undergrowth in the Extended sample area has reached, resulting in the impossibility of continued blanket "dragging" for comparative results.

3. Bilberry now fruiting >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

4. Deliver ticks 2477-2489 to LIT for recognition purposes.

16 July 2009 1. Receive Ticks 2475-2476 from PRE
2. Email from HPA confirming rabbit tick (collected 24 March, below), although 2nd opinion awaited.
15 July 2009 Receive Ticks 2467-2474 from AST.
14 July 2009 Collect Ticks 2465-2466 from JYO (Woolwell car park).
10 July 2009 Receive Ticks 2462-2464 from AST.
9 July 2009 1. Receive Ticks 2459-2460 from MBI
2. Receive Tick 2461 from PRE.
8 July 2009 1. Collect Ticks 2438-2450 from SKA
2. Collect Ticks 2451-2455 from JYO
3. Collect Ticks 2456-2458 from JJO.
6 July 2009 1. Collect Tick 2436 from DM-2
2. Collect Tick 2437 from ARM.
4 July 2009 Photograph Tick 2434 laying eggs - see here.
3 July 2009 1. Collect Tick 2433 from VET6
2. Receive Ticks 2434-2435 from SPI - one laying eggs.
2 July 2009 Find Tick 2432 on own wrist - photographed, see here and >>>
1 July 2009 Receive Tick 2431 from SAMP1.
30 June 2009 Photograph tick bite rash on a leg, probable bull's-eye rash i.e. Lyme disease. Antibiotic prescribed.
29 June 2009 Examine Leitz 28-30 for bacteria, nothing interesting.
27 June 2009 1. Receive Tick 2148 from PH1.
2. Collect Ticks 2149-2430 (includes larval ticks left on blanket and counted on trousers)  from Yarner Wood (Y2 area).
3. Abandon Yarner Wood Extended drag because of the tick larvae problem again (as on 29 May). Found over 50 larvae on trousers at knee level after (2) above. Also, there were several larvae on my hands after wiping my trousers. Further, the larvae latching onto my hands while collecting larger ticks from the blanket became worrying - personal well-being is an issue. The "Extended" area, of undergrowth, is now head-high with bracken and "dragging" has become more akin to "flagging" with extreme ups-and-downs with the blanket involved, it is not clear how representative this would be in the results, plus further personal exposure to ticks on this level will not to be entertained.
At least 200 larvae were left on the blanket, for subsequent sealing and later simmering / micro-waving for sterilisation.
Conditions: 24°C, hot, humid, blue sky, no cloud, light breeze. The canopy cover from the trees made it difficult to see ticks on the blanket because of the bright/dark high-contrast lighting conditions.
 

Knee-high grass seed heads in sample area
- unavoidable source of I. ricinus larvae.
 

Random photo of blanket - 11 larvae
in an area approx. 5 x 4 cm.
 
23 June 2009 1. Receive Ticks 2145-2147 from BAI1.
2. Examine Leitz 27 for bacteria
22 June 2009 1. Collect Ticks 2073-2136 on Ringmoor Down
2. Collect Ticks 2137-2144 by Brisworthy Plantation
Conditions: Starting 8.00 am, 18°C, grey sky with some sunny patches. By the finish, 11.00 am: 21°C and a lot of blue sky and sunshine. Very light breezes. Disappointing harvest at Brisworthy - getting warm and dry? Bracken average height "up to knees".
3. Examine Leitz 25-26 for bacteria.
17 June 2009 1. Receive Ticks 2068-2072 from BAI1
2. Give first Ticks Presentation to Dartmoor Letterboxers in Plymouth.
ANECDOTE - "Ticks can fly" - by lifting legs up on one side, standing more or less on just one or two legs and catching the breeze deliberately. Seen again by the previous reporter (see 2 June 2009).
ANECDOTE - Small ticks can escape from the plastic Petri dishes ..... (again)
ANECDOTE - Ticks prefer clean skin, don't shower before going on the moor?
ANECDOTE - Ticks prefer women, coinciding with monthly cycles - this was disputed by an older lady who gets a lot of ticks!
ANECDOTE  - covering up doesn't help some individuals (same as 16 Oct 2008).
15 June 2009 1. Receive Ticks 2065-2067 from BBR
2. Examine Leitz 21-24 for bacteria
14 June 2009 1. Examine Leitz 19-20 for bacteria - see four spirochaetes (?)
2. Collect Ticks 2057-2064 from LUK
3. Find first spirochaetes in a sheep tick from a roe deer - the twentieth tick examined.
MEMO TO SELF - Not seeing engorged nymphs at present .....

MEMO TO SELF - 1. To this point, after examining 20 mixed life cycle stages of  Ixodes ricinus, I have seen only one tick with spirochaetes and four with the "frenetic wrigglies" in the salivary gland sells - what are these? See Movie 11 on this page.
2. After 27 ticks by high-power light microscopy, five ticks have contained the "frenetic wrigglies" - the experts haven't commented yet.

13 June 2009 Examine Leitz 15-18 for bacteria.
ANECDOTE - headless nymph without 1st pair of legs walked off the microscope slide and across the dissecting microscope stage during preparation.
12 June 2009 1. Collect Ticks 2042-2053 from BARN
2. Collect Ticks 2054-2055 from JYO
3. Receive Tick/s 2056 from VB
11 June 2009 1. Collect Ticks 2014-2037 at Ashburton (BUR).
2. Examine Leitz 12-14 for bacteria (all three had frenetic activity in/between(?) salivary gland cells.
3. Collect Ticks 2038-2041 from JJO.
10 June 2009 Visit LIT (Torbay)
9 June 2009 Collect Ticks 1848-2013 from DUN
8 June 2009 1. Cut bracken and collect Ticks 1805-1847 at Yarner Wood (Y2 area)
Conditions: 16°C, cloudy, cool, very damp and spotting with rain. Few ticks.
2. Receive Tick 1848 from BAI1
3. Examine Leitz 11 for bacteria.
4. Receive two emails from 2nd BBC interviewee (broadcast on BBC Morning News on 28 May).
7 June 2009 1. Collect Ticks 1792-1803 from BM1
2. Collect Tick 1804 from JJO
6 June 2009 Collect Tick 1791 from SKA
5 June 2009 1. Collect Ticks 1787- 1790 from VET4.
2. Examine Leitz-9-10 (females) for bacteria, no spirochaetes
4 June 2009 Collect Ticks 1784-1786 from SKA.
3 June 2009 It had to happen - I found a small sheep tick nymph on myself today after bracken control on Leeden Hill (at approx. SX 5652 7149) - Tick 1783.
2 June 2009 1. Receive Tick 1781 from BAI1
2. Receive Tick 1782 from KSH
ANECDOTE - "Ticks can fly" - by lifting legs up on one side, standing more or less on just one or two legs and catching the breeze deliberately. I have seen something similar when collecting off the blanket:
  1. Is it an escape mechanism?

  2. It was suggested today that perhaps they reach passing sheep in this manner - so that it is perhaps a host-finding mechanism?

  3. Another possibility is that this could be a dispersal mechanism under appropriate conditions, similar to small spiders parachuting away?

1 June 2009 1. Receive Tick 1779 from WAT
2. Receive Tick 1780 from PHL
3. Examine Leitz- 4-8 (nymphs) 4-8 for bacteria, no spirochaetes.
31 May 2009 Add a page about Measurement and magnification in microscopes.
30 May 2009 1. Collect Ticks 1727-1757 on Ringmoor Down, 1,000 meters. Fifteen larvae left  on blanket.
2. Collect Tick 1758 by Brisworthy Plantation, 700 meters. Bracken up to 30 cm max.
Conditions: 21°C, blue sky, no cloud, breezy from east, drying wind?
Big discrepancy
in numbers here - maybe it was too hot, with a drying wind, and the ticks were at ground level? Collect only in early morning, not mid-day?
3. Collect Ticks 1759-1761 from SKA
4. Collect Ticks 1762-1778 from BM1.
29 May 2009 1. Collect in Yarner Wood - ABANDON after doing half of normal track due to the large number of larvae on the blanket. None were harvested although the nymphs and adults were. I counted 200 larvae on the leading third of the blanket, there were probably in excess of another hundred. 22 nymphs were collected and 200 larvae recorded in the Results. One problem was the larvae constantly moving onto my hand as I harvested larger ticks. This became worrying I only dragged the outer circular track (243 meters). Today's effort involved constant checking of hands and arms ..... Today's records are ticks 1525 - 1726.
Conditions: 21°C, dry, blue sky, light breeze. Some bracken is now shoulder high along the sides of the paths. Collecting circle, scattered bracken up to waist (maximum), bilberry about 15 cm, scattered grasses 30 cm high - very different to the leaf litter of winter and spring.
2. Bought some Boots Repel on the way home, containing 50% DEET for trousers and gaiters!
3. Collect Tick 1521 from VET1.
28 May 2009 1. See Dartmoor ticks 'piece' on BBC national morning news, from Haytor.
2. Collect Ticks 1520, 1522, 1523 from VET4
3. Telephone interviewee from this morning's news broadcast re. comment on the movies.
4. Examine 2 Ringmoor nymph guts (Leitz nymphs 2 & 3) under Leitz Nomarski optics, similar to 26th May results.
27 May 2009 1. Receive Ticks 1518-1519 from PEN
2. Receive Tick 1524 from SAMP2
26 May 2009 Look at first nymph (Ringmoor) under oil immersion high-power Leitz microscope using Nomarski optics. See "wrigglies" - motile microbes (?) - make short movies.
25 May 2009 Tentatively identify Ticks 1510-1513 as Vole or Shrew Ticks, Ixodes trianguliceps, subject to official confirmation.
24 May 2009 Receive Tick 1516 from BAI1
Invitation to give first talk about ticks (17th June).
22 May 2009 Receive Ticks 1514-1515 from DAR
21 May 2009 1. Collect Ticks 1416-1473 from Ringmoor Down
2. Collect Ticks  1474-1508 from Brisworthy Plantation
Make a mini-movie of nymph on a finger to show its rate of movement - a little crude!
Mostly nymphs, they will be used in the Lyme/spirochaete investigation.
Conditions: 16°C, grey/white clouds, sunny with dull periods, fair breeze, squelchy wet underfoot. There was clear new grass at Ringmoor Down and the cows were out among it. There was new bracken shoots at Brisworthy, mostly 20 cm high, with some at 30 cm and unfolding its leaves.
3. Collect Ticks 1509-1513 from VET4.
20 May 2009 Deliver 683 ticks to the Health Protection Agency - Tick Recording Scheme at Porton Down.
18 May 2009 Swap the Jena Zeiss Interphako microscope for the more user-friendly Leitz Orthomat microscope with Nomarksi optics.
15 May 2009 1. Collect Tick 1412 from VET1, also some others from an unknown location - not recorded in the Results
2. Collect Ticks 1412-1415 from VET4 - unidentified engorged larvae (included with the sheep tick results for the time being.
13 May 2009 1. Receive Ticks 1401-1402 from SAMP2
2. Collect Ticks 1403 - 1411 from BM1.
12 May 2009 Receive Tick 1400 from PRE.
11 May 2009 1. Collect Ticks 1316-1399 from DUN
2. ANECDOTE - Rubbing a finger tip in a circular motion around an attached tick can cause it to release and drop off.
3. MEMO TO SELF - DUN ticks are all adults with no nymphs, compare with Yarner with its few adults at this time - local microclimatye effects?
10 May 2009 1. Collect Ticks 1182-1301 at Yarner Wood area Y2. The track floor was more 'prickly' with new whortleberry shoots and young bracken was up to my knee in places, therefore the blanket no longer maintains close contact with the leaf litter (this track gets mown sometime in the year).
2. Collect Ticks 1302-1315 at Y2-Extended.
Conditions: 16°C, white clouds, sunny with dull periods, no breeze, dry.
3. See two deer - who saw me first!
9 May 2009 Collect Ticks 1180 & 1181 from VET4.
5 May 2009 Receive Tick 1179 from BAI1.
3 May 2009 Collect Tick 1178 from CPF.
1 May 2009 1. Collect Tick 1176 at Torquay, a hedgehog tick nymph.
2. Receive Tick 1177 from MWI
3. Photos-2 page started, with sheep and hedghog nymphs compared
28 Apr 2009 1. Visit LUK, deliver collecting kits, see rabbit, discuss deer ticks and Lyme disease
2. Deliver 20 kits to BM1, hear of an original local case of Lyme disease
3. Collect Ticks 1166-1716 from BM1
4. Collect Ticks 1172-1175 from ROB.
24 Apr 2009 Collect Ticks 1135-1165 from COL, taken from young lambs.
23 Apr 2009 Ticks 1130-1134 received from PRE.
22 Apr 2009 Collect Ticks 11026-1129 from BM1.
21 Apr 2009 1. Receive Tick 1067 from ARM
2. Collect Ticks 1068-1105 at Yarner Wood area Y2. The track floor was 'prickly' with new whortleberry shoots (this track gets mown sometime in the year)
3. Collect Ticks 1106-1125 at Y2-Extended. The undergrowth was noticeably more leafy and a fresh, new green compared to the last visit (8th Apr).
Conditions: 18°C, blue sky, some small white clouds, dry, almost no breeze.
4. See a deer - I was too slow reaching for the camera.
5. ANECDOTE - Eating garlic keeps ticks at bay - it changes body odour, also good against mosquitoes.

Notes to self .....
1. Nymph - edge on, measures 100
mm (micrometers) or 1/10th mm at posterior end - THIN TO THE EYE!
2. Larva - edge  on, measures 20
mm (micrometers) or 1/50th mm at posterior end - THAT'S INVISIBLE!
3. This is why its necessary to check over the blanket several times, because they move around and become visible sometimes after the first check: larval numbers are undoubtedly an under-estimate.

20 Apr 2009 1. Collect Ticks 978-996 on Ringmoor Down, drag 1,000 meters- the first of the year at this site. Ponies arrive again and show curiosity, nuzzling at the blanket. Cows also curious but not approaching.
2. Collect Ticks 997-1036 at COL from sheepdog - hedgehog ticks?
3. Collect Ticks 1037-1065 beside Brisworthy Plantation over 500 meters
Conditions: 18°C, blue sky, dry, light breeze. There were some very small white clouds by the end of the Brisworthy collection.
4. Tick 1066 through letterbox from BAI1.
5. ANECDOTE (Self) - I have read that ticks meet and mate on the host - this is true, as seen on the Photos page (third row up from bottom) - BUT, equally true, unfed male and female ticks collected separately on Ringmoor Down and beside Brisworthy Plantation mated when put into the collecting dishes together.
16 Apr 2009 1. Collect Ticks 973-976 from BM1
2. Collect Tick 977 from VET4
15 Apr 2009 Collect Tick 972 from BAI1.
14 Apr 2009 Collect Ticks 966-971 from VET4.
13 Apr 2009 Discover someone I walk with (CS) has walked in Lyme, Connecticut, USA, and was warned to "cover up"!
8 Apr 2009 1. Collect Tick 925 from VET1
2. Collect Ticks 926 - 965 at Yarner Wood - Y2 and Y2-Ext (including first larvae of 2009 - missed before?)
3. Deliver collecting kits to DUN.
Conditions: 14°C, sunny periods, white clouds, slight breeze, heavy rain previous night. Whortleberry now in leaf and with pink flower buds.
6 Apr 2009 1. Collect Ticks 894 & 895 from VET5
2. Tick drag on Ringmoor Down, 1,000 meters, no ticks - NEGATIVE RESULT
3. Collect Ticks 896-924 by "dragging" at Brisworthy bracken, 686 meters.
Conditions: 11°C, blue sky, windy.
4 Apr 2009 1. Collect Ticks 854-893 from DUN - no nymphs included, all adults.
2. ANECDOTE - The large ticks survive longer in the collecting dishes (contain more water?).
2 Apr 2009 Collect Ticks 852 & 853 from OAK.
1 Apr 2009 1. Receive Tick 849 by post from PR.
2. Collect Ticks 850 & 851 from VET5.
28 Mar 2009 1. Receive Tick 847 from DER c/o PR.
2. Collect Tick 848 from CPF.
25 Mar 2009 Collect Tick 846 from VET5, Collector BRU.
24 Mar 2009 Collect Tick 845 from VET5, Collector LUK. NEW SPECIES Ixodes ventalloi, Rabbit tick.
23 Mar 2009 1. Deliver approx 800 ticks to the Health Protection Agency - Tick Recording Scheme at Porton Down.
2. The alien tick collected on 15 March was formally identified as Hyalomma marginatum marginatum - a Two Host Tick.
22 Mar 2009 1. Collect Ticks 812-821 from the regular sampling area at Yarner Wood, this being the leaf litter on the floor of the sessile oak wood.
2. Collect Ticks 822-844 from the adjacent area to the above, by draping the blanket over the undergrowth beside the tracks - this consisting mainly of whortleberry (aka bilberry: Vaccinium myrtillus) with scattered heather bushes, occasional small holly trees and dead bracken.
Conditions: 16 °C, dry, sunny, no cloud, light breezes.
20 Mar 2009 Collect Tick 811 from JJG.
19 Mar 2009 Collect Tick 810 from VET1. New species - Dermacentor reticulatus - Ornate Cow Tick.
18 Mar 2009 1. Drag on Ringmoor Down - no ticks. Ponies help! NEGATIVE RESULT.
2. Collect Ticks 780-809 from near Brisworthy Plantation by dragging.
Conditions: 15 °C, clear blue sky, hazy, strong breeze.
16 Mar 2009 1. Collect Tick 779 from BEL.
2. ANECDOTE - ticks on sheep tend to be around the mouth area.
15 Mar 2009 Collect a special tick from Okehampton - possibly Hyalomma aegyptium - Tortoise tick, on an animal from Portugal. Awaiting confirmation by the HPA Tick Recording Scheme.
Identified at Porton Down as Hyalomma marginatum marginatum - see 23 March.
12 Mar 2009 Collect Ticks 776-778 from VET4
10 Mar 2009 Speak to a clinical scientist at the HPA Lyme unit at Southampton re. their requirements.
8 Mar 2009 Collect Ticks 769-775 from Yarner Wood Y2 area.
Conditions: 7 °C, sunny, windy, turned to constant light rain.
4 Mar 2009 1. Collect Tick 753 from VET5 (c/o/PR)
2. Collect Ticks 751-752 & 754-768 from DUN
3 Mar 2009 Collect Tick 750 from JJO
2 Mar 2009 1. Collect Tick 749 from VET1
2. Email today confirming 11 Dec email saying the Health Protection Agency Tick Recording Scheme will take all ticks collected by Dartmoor Tick Watch.
20 Feb 2009 Collect Tick 748 from ASH.
25 Feb 2009 Collect Ticks 746-747 from CPF.
20 Feb 2009 1. Talk to Plymouth U3A group at Ringmoor Cottage car park
2. Tick drag on Ringmoor Down, 860 meters, no ticks - NEGATIVE RESULT.
3. Tick drag on bracken by Brisworthy Plantation, 861 meters, collect Ticks 741-745.
Conditions: 8 °C, sunny, mild, misty therefore humid, negligible breeze.
17 Feb 2009 1. Deliver kits and long discussion with JIJ, Brisworthy.
2. Telephone Southampton Lyme Unit.
15 Feb 2009 Collect 22 Ticks 719-740 at Yarner Wood, Y2 area. Conditions: 10°C, 11-12 am, leaf litter damp, after probable rain in the night, after the Feb. snow - on Thurs. I walked in knee deep snow near the Warren House Inn.
9 Feb 2009 Receive Tick 718 from JGG.
3 Feb 2009 Take photos on Zeiss Interphako microscope, using cheek epithelial cells to test different phase imaging techniques - see here.
30 Jan 2009 1. Write up results from 28 Jan.
2. Start Dartmoor tick index concept, based on the Yarner results, see here.
28 Jan 2009 Collect 16 Ticks 702-717 at Yarner Wood, Y2 area, all I. ricinus nymphs.
Conditions: 11 °C, 3-4 pm, leaf litter damp after heavy rain the night before.
22 Jan 2009 Come across "Researchers also noted that Lyme disease remains underreported with an estimated seven to 12 cases for each reported case". This is in a report about Lyme disease that states that between 1992 and 1998, there were 88,967 cases of Lyme disease reported in the USA (see here). This means, if at ten cases per one case reported, there could have been 889, 670 cases in that period - ten years ago!
20 Jan 2009 1. 6-20th Jan - spend many hours servicing the new microscope, trying to free-up some of the movements. Bad weather in this period.
2. Collect Ticks 694-701 nymphs (I. ricinus) from Yarner Wood (Y2 area, the horse circle). Conditions: 6 °C, still, sunny, ground wet from recent heavy rain, after several days of heavy frosts.
3. ANECDOTE - static electricity was generated by removing and replacing the lid of the plastic collecting dish. In one instance, four ticks collected first 'jumped' up to the lid when it was replaced, second instance was on removing the lid when one tick was suspended by static charge about 4 cm from the lid and from the base, then it 'flew' away on a breeze.
6 Jan 2009 1. Discuss servicing the new microscope (see yesterday) with a Zeiss service engineer.
2. Collect Tick 693 (from Dec 2008) from BUR.
3. Results for 2008 were finalised and uploaded today.
4. Results - small discrepancy in tick nos. and overall numbers found - there are two "256" and no "265". Also, 642-645 were not allocated. There is an overall discrepancy of four in the numbering, the allocated numbering goes to 693 but there were four less so that the chart/graph results, from spreadsheet sorting, show the actual 689 ticks.
5 Jan 2009 1. Collect Ticks 688-691 from VET1.
2. Collect Jena Zeiss Interphako microscope from previous employer on long-loan, conditional on it being made functional again. Having been purchased in 1970, some lubricants have dried out with the effect of cementing some sliding movements solid. This microscope should give positive, negative and coloured phase contrast, dark field and interference contrast images up to x1000 magnification - ideal for seeing spirochaete bacteria in ticks, if they are present.
4 Jan 2009 1. Collect Ticks 662-687 from DUN (in order of collection dates), included a mating pair from November and another pair from December!
2. ANECDOTE - There were more ticks around last winter, it was not so cold.
3 Jan 2009 Collect Tick 692 from BARN (in order of collection dates).
1 Jan 2009 Collect Tick 661 from BM1.
31 Dec 2008 Food for thought re. tick-borne diseases - I received this link today to the USA Change.org web site. The move for change in medical practices included this comment from one 'poster' on 31 Dec 2008:

Tick-borne illnesses are becoming a massive, unrecognized epidemic in our country. If these illnesses are not immediately treated when caught the disease advances to a chronic, disabling condition. Because of the IDSA guidelines, which were recently proven fraudulent by the Connecticut Attorney General, many doctors are completely unaware of how to identify and treat these diseases in the acute stage of infection. Ticks can transmit a number of scientifically proven  diseases in addition to lyme - babesia, erlichia, bartonella. Ticks transmit a type of spirochete even more powerful than the spirochetes associated with syphilis. If the disease is allowed to advance, as is often the case now, the spirochetes and bacteria cause illnesses which mimic MS, lupus, Parkinson's and mental illness to name just a few. The suffering is enormous and is being swept under the rug. Tick-borne illness now is where AIDS was in the late seventies. Except that anyone who goes outdoors is at risk. (Webmaster - The underlining is mine)

22 Dec 2008 1. Collect ticks 642-645 from VET1
2. Collect ticks 646-660 from Yarner Wood (Y2 area) - also saw "hoppers" that could be mistaken for "jumping" ticks because they are the same size and approximate appearance to the naked eye as some small ticks - see here. They were actually springtails. On re-examining the ticks from 5 Nov., there was no springtail in the dish, only I. ricinus nymphs.
17 Dec 2008 "Ticks in Parliament" - a question was asked about Lyme disease yesterday. Hugo Swire (Con, East Devon): "I recently chaired a seminar on Lyme disease in Westminster Hall, and two things became clear—that diagnoses of people suffering from Lyme disease are on the increase, and that sufferers are beginning to encounter the same scepticism that people with other chronic fatigue syndromes such as ME have been subject to ....... more (this link includes a video of the whole web page, click Show video if it doesn't run automatically). "Hansard source" goes straight to Hansard.
15 Dec 2008 Receive Tick awareness factsheet file from Dartmoor National Park Authority for inclusion on this web site.
14 Dec 2008 NEGATIVE RESULT - No ticks found in Yarner Wood. Tried the Horse Circle as usual (ground leaf litter), plus the margins (dead bracken and bilberry), also along the main the track beside the circle and the area north of the circle. This was after several hard frosts and heavy rain the previous two days (that caused flood alerts and road closures in Devon)
11 Dec 2008

Email received from the HPA (Health Protection Agency), saying that they will take the ticks collected by Dartmoor Tick Watch to confirm their identification for the Tick Recording Scheme (Microbial Risk Assessment, Centre for Emergency Preparedness & Response, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wilts).
 

Related Health Protection Agency links:

The results will be passed to the Biological Records Centre to be made available nationally on the National Biodiversity Network gateway (search the main site using "tick" (Singular) for all UK ticks reports or "Ixodes ricinus" for sheep tick and "Ixodes hexagonus" for hedgehog tick).
 

The ticks would then be passed to the HPA Lyme Borreliosis Unit, Southampton for testing for diseases that they might be carrying.

3 Dec 2008 1. ANECDOTE - ticks seen in the snow before (KM)
2. Collect Tick 641 from Plympton
28 Nov 2008 Collect Tick 640 from CPF
27 Nov 2008 1. Collect nine nymphs (Ticks 631-639) in Yarner Wood (Y2 area)
2. ANECDOTE - one tick wafted more than 1.5 meters away (more than the length of the collecting blanket) on a gentle breeze while dropping it about 2 cm into the collecting dish - therefore, small ticks (proven unfed nymphs and presumably also lightweight larvae) CAN travel on the wind and blow into houses? (as per PH1's wife's anecdote, 17 Oct, below) 
3. Tape measure the Y2 collecting route - 451.9 meters (see yesterday!)
4. Call  in at DNPA, Bovey Tracey, to show today's ticks
5. Deliver collecting kits to and discuss many aspects with CLA 
26 Nov 2008 1. Forget to take blanket to Y2 collecting area
2. Measure Y2 collecting route by:
    (a) GPS tracking - lost signal and "straight-lined" curve sometimes - 424 meters
    (b) pacing - 448.4 meters, called it 450 meters for calculation purposes
    (c) drawing a track on Memory Map later - 460 meters
3. Calculated local tick population in the wood to be 49,934 ("questing") on 5 Nov, perhaps 100,000 overall or even more? In November! This equates to one "questing" tick per 28 sq. meters
21 Nov 2008 Collect Ticks 617-630 from VET1
20 Nov 2008 1. Deliver kits to SMI1
2. Collect Ticks 615-616 from BM1
19 Nov 2008 Receive Ticks 627-629 from SMI1
18 Nov 2008 Collect Ticks 559-614 from Dunsford
17 Nov 2008 1. Collect Ticks 551-558 from BARN
2. Video ticks 'piece' on BBC 1's 7 pm The One Show
16 Nov 2008 Collect Ticks 549-550 from CPF
 12 Nov 2008 1. Collect Tick 544 at Postbridge car park from SAMP2
2. ANECDOTE - One tick was lost after running like a spider (long experience - SAMP2)
3. Collect Ticks 545-548 from BM1 at Plympton
 7 Nov 2008 1. ANECDOTE - Many more ticks now compared to ten years ago.
2. ANECDOTE - Deer ticks in Canada are said to be able to "jump" (Arboretum car park)
 5 Nov 2008 1. Collect Ticks 515-543 by "dragging" in two areas - Y1 (Transition area) and Y2 (Horse Circle)
2. ANECDOTE - One nymph was seen to "jump" 4-5 cm away from its position on the blanket as I tried to pick it off, this happened twice in quick succession with the same tick! Not seen previously - due to static electricity? Definitely not the "hoppers" seen on 22 Dec.
4 Nov 2008 1. Receive Tick 512 from Avon Dam area
2. Receive Ticks 511 & 513 from Lustleigh
3. Collect Tick 514 from Roborough Down
31 Oct 2008 Collect Ticks 509-510 from MWI
29 Oct 2008 Collect Ticks 503-508 from BM1
28 Oct 2008 1. Meet the Millipore (UK) Ltd Application Specialist, South West UK, Bioscience Division, Millipore Corporation, who made the company's sponsorship for Dartmoor Tick Watch possible, at the University of Plymouth, to say "Thank you" in person.
2. Receive Ticks 500 & 501 from MWI, Compassworks.
3. Collect Tick 502 from VET1.
27 Oct 2008 1. Collect Tick 499 from Roborough Down, first from a horse.
2. ANECDOTE - ticks don't get so big on horses.
26 Oct 2008 1. "Drag" kennel straw where sheep dogs that provided 119 (47+72) hedgehog ticks are housed, collect 1 engorged hedgehog tick larva (Tick498). Also take some home for flotation/detergent separation but find nothing more.
25 Oct 2008 1. Collect 146 ticks (Ticks 351-497) from a farm near Sheepstor after the sheep were brought in off the moor today.
24 Oct 2008 PRESS - First press cutting from today's Western Morning News, page 17, Nature Watch with Trevor Beer, in a review of Dartmoor News (Sep-Oct 2008), including: "There is an article on Dartmoor ticks which are said to be more common of late, though I wonder if its really that more people are using the area these days and the creatures are latching on us and our animals. It is a useful article to read if you are a regular moorland walker. The message is that not all ticks carry diseases, but those that do are a serious health risk".
23 Oct 2008 1. Receive Tick 329 by post.
2. Collect 20 ticks (Ticks 330-350) by 'dragging' at Yarner Wood (4.68 km/2.91 miles).
3. Decide to collect in future from 3 areas in Yarner Wood as a sub-project.
22 Oct 2008 1. ANECDOTE - Ticks were on a dog last winter
2. ANECDOTE - Account of incidence of red water disease (Babesiosis) cattle some years ago in Milton Combe AND
3. ANECDOTE - incidence of a tick fever in cattle that attacked white blood cells (Ehrlichiosis).
4. Collect Ticks 327 & 328 from SAMP
20 Oct 2008 1. Collect Tick 326 from BAI1
2. ANECDOTE - Believe ticks may jump.
18 Oct 2008 Collect Tick 325 from LUS
17 Oct 2008 1. Collect Tick 324 from PH1
2. ANECDOTE - Believe ticks may jump.
3. ANECDOTE - Ticks seem to come on the breeze sometimes, airborne?
4. ANECDOTE - More ticks in Yarner Wood after roe deer got more numerous.
5. Asked by a main sponsor to keep them updated as to progress of the project.
16 Oct 2008 1. Collect Tick 319 from Sampford Spiney.
2. ANECDOTE - Talking about wearing shorts, person with boots, tucked-in long trousers and long-sleeved shirt found ticks around neck area.
3. ANECDOTE - A tick found on the shin despite being well-covered with boots, trousers and gaiters.
4. ANECDOTE - More ticks on someone last year compared to this year.
5. ANECDOTE - Are some people more attractive to ticks than others (same for midges, horseflies etc.)?
2. Collect Ticks 320-323 from BM1 at Plympton.
15 Oct 2008 ANECDOTE - There were more ticks last year (Source: Plymst.Vet. Ctr. - (K).
14 Oct 2008 ANECDOTE - Ticks were quiet this summer until September (Source: PH1-Yarner).
13 Oct 2008 Add the 1st chart of results to the Results section as a demonstration of how results can be presented
11 Oct 2008 Process tick no. 300 today - still processing others!
10 Oct 2008 1. Collect ticks from the Okehampton area
2. Make contact with a potential collector in the Okehampton area and leave kits
3. Make contact with a stables in the Belstone area and leave kits.
9 Oct 2008 1. NEGATIVE RESULT Do a tick 'drag' from near Nun's Cross to Eylesbarrow (2.76 km/1.72 miles) where the large numbers of hedgehog ticks (x47 and x72) are thought to originate from. Found no ticks at all. Conditions:  warm, dry day, cloudy and sunny periods, wet ground. "Dragged" for 4.4 km (2.7 miles).
2. Collect 2 ticks from VET1 source.
3. Collect several kits of many ticks from the Dunsford area.
6 Oct 2008 Collect 72 hedgehog ticks from COL
5 Oct 2008 Collect tick  VB - 1 tick from a cat
29 Sep 2008 Collect ticks from BM3
27 Sep 2008 1. Collect ticks from VET1
2. Collect ticks from BM1 & BM2
21 Sep 2008 NEGATIVE RESULT "went to Littaford, Longaford, Lower and Higher White, Rough, Crow, Devil's, Lydford and Beardown Tors (took about 6 hrs) and again noticed not a single tick. Source: DUN
21 Sep 2008 1. Distribute 3 kits to walkers at Shipley Bridge car park
2. Collect Ticks 150-155 from BM1 (Sheep Ticks)
    - (incl. a mating pair - see the Photos web page)
3. Meet a Dartmoor Common Owner and leave several collecting kits
    - ANECDOTE about ticks being active last winter (2007/08)
20 Sep 2008 Collect Ticks 156-158 from VET1, Hedgehog Ticks - (processed after Ticks 150-155)
19 Sep 2008 1. Collect 4 ticks (146-149) from MF
2. Deliver collecting kits to BM1
17 Sep 2008 1. Letter from PD via DPA Dartmoor Matters newsletter re. tick bite and the discovery, after blood tests, of antibodies from long ago to Lyme disease.
2. Meet Dartmoor Letterboxers at Woodland Fort, Plymouth, leaving several kits
15 Sep 2008 1. Letter from BM1 via DPA Dartmoor Matters newsletter requesting collecting kits
2. Collect 47 ticks from a farm near Burrator
3. ANECDOTE - ticks don't get so big on horses.
4. Collect 6 ticks from Woodside Animal Welfare Trust
14 Sep 2008 Telephone call to collect a large number of ticks from a farm near Burrator
12 Sep 2008 Dispatch kits to HM
10 Sep 2008 1. Letter from HM via DPA Dartmoor Matters newsletter
2. Collect Tick 90 from MF
9 Sep 2008 Give collection kits to 2 Dartmoor workers (DM-2)
7 Sep 2008 Collect 4 ticks from VET1. Tick 86 (Hedgehog tick on a cat)
6 Sep 2008 Give 12 kits to SJ/JJ East Dartmoor
4 Sep 2008 1. Collect Tick 85 (Grenofen) from MF, Plymouth
2. ANECDOTE - This is the first year I haven’t picked up a tick – yet! (Source: DHarb)
3 Sep 2008 Meet Dartmoor Letterboxers at Dolphin Hotel, Bovey Tracey, leave 10 kits
2 Sep 2008 NEGATIVE RESULT - Blanket "dragging" session off the track from Norsworthy Bridge to Crazy Well Pool, near the top. No ticks found, not even larvae, The weather was damp and the ground was sodden. A lot of the bracken was turning brown (early, due to the excess rain?)
1 Sep 2008 Collect 1 hedgehog tick (on a cat) from VET1
29 Aug 2008 Collect 12 + 1 hedgehog ticks from VET1
28 Aug 2008 Collect 2 sheep ticks from DM-2 (one turned out not to be a tick)
21 Aug 2008 Collect 25 + 3 hedgehog ticks from VET1
22 Aug 2008 Give collecting kit to a dog walker during a Dartmoor CAM walk
21 Aug 2008 Collect Ticks 37-39 from VET1, again Ixodes hexagonus, the Hedgehog Tick
20 Aug 2008 Collect Ticks 31-36 from VET1, all from one hedgehog - Ixodes hexagonus
16 Aug 2008 Collect Tick 30 from VET1
15 Aug 2008 1. Distribute collecting kits to 2 dog walkers and 1 farmer
2. Collect Tick 16 (nymph) and Ticks 17-29 (larvae) by "dragging" 1.9 km (1.18 miles) by Brisworthy Plantation on Lynch Common
3. ANECDOTE - More ticks last year (Farmer)
13 Aug 2008 Collect Tick 15 from VET1
12 Aug 2008 Collect two ticks (13 & 14) from VET1
8 Aug 2008 Collect two small ticks (nymphs, ticks 11 & 12) on Shaugh Moor by "dragging" 1.35 km/0.84 miles.
5 Aug 2008 1. Collecting kit and "flyer" handed to a dog walker on Roborough Down
2. Tick 10 received from J. Watson
4 Aug 2008 Filter papers received from Whatman plc
3 Aug 2008 Results updated with tick 9 (VET1)
2 Aug 2008 1. Write "Ticks ID" web page and take the photographs
2. Collect tick 9  from a Plymouth animal welfare establishment (VET1)
1 Aug 2008 Obtain an ex-demonstration Schott fibre optic lighting system for the microscope from Brian Reece Scientific Ltd.
31 July 2008 Book received - British Ticks by Don. R Arthur, Butterworths, London, 1963.
30 July 2008 1. Tick 8 collected from a Plymouth animal welfare establishment (VET1)
2. 2 kits delievered to a farm on South Dartmoor.
29 July 2008 4 kits delivered to a Plymouth animal welfare establishment (DM-5).
28 July 2008 1. Book received Ticks of North West Europe by Paul Hillyard, The Linnean Society of London, Field Studies Council, Shrewsbury, 1996, ISBN 1 85153 257 9
1. Kits delivered to a riding stables (DM-3) and an animal welfare establishment (DM-4) on South Dartmoor
2. 1 tick collected from a dog-owner, Cann Woods, Plympton,
27 July 2008 First two movies added, at bottom of the home page
26 July 2008 1. 2 calls to collect ticks from VET1. Take photos and movies, first engorged tick.
2. ANECDOTE - "We are seeing more ticks this year, especially on the faces of dogs running through undergrowth". Ticks 6 & 7.
25/7/2008 1. Book received on Inter Library Loan - Mites and ticks of domestic animals - an identification guide and information source by Anne S Baker, The Natural History Museum, London - The Stationery Office, 1999, ISBN 011 3100493.
2. Tick 5 received from K Shepherd.
23 July 2008 1. Book received - Ticks - A lay guide to a human hazard by George Hendry & Darrel Ho-Yen, Mercat Press, Edinburgh, 1998, ISBN 1873644 809.
2. NEGATIVE RESULT - 3 hours flagging and dragging produced nothing, it was a blistering hot day and ticks may have been seeking cool shade at (or in) ground level so as not to desiccate
3. 15 kits taken by a Dartmoor organisation (DM-2) whose employees spend time on Dartmoor.
21 July 2008 1. Blankets, flag and field work kit ready for use
2. 16 collecting kits taken by first Plymouth area vets (VET1).
17 July 2008 The first few kits were distributed today, at a local shop and at a Dartmoor
Preservation Assoc. walk - a long way to go .....
15 July 2008 The collecting dishes received from Millipore (UK) Ltd, so I can start assembling collecting kits.
14 July 2008 The plastic bags received from Agar Scientific Ltd.

 

 


 

 

All tick visitors counted by StatCounter