Newly hatched winter tick larvae are currently active now in Yukon, where they will be looking for a host animal. They are usually found in areas of high animal activity - moose, elk, caribou or deer. If you're out hunting or hiking, you might spot winter tick larvae on vegetation, between 0.5 -1.5m from the ground.
What to look for:
Clusters of tiny red-brown ticks on the top & underside of leaves and woody plant stems. They may be formed into a clump or 'tick ball' or spread over the ends of leaves. Each tick is approximately 1-2mm across (size of a poppy seed!) and has 6 legs - the front pair are long and curved to help them grip onto a passing animal. There may be as many as 150-200 individual ticks in each clump.
Upload images to here on the Yukon Winter Tick Monitoring Project page on iNaturalist.
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