In early July, 1863, troops from General Robert E. Leeâs Army of Northern Virginia (the Confederates) met up with a patrol of Union cavalry on the outskirts of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Over the next three days, this encounter grew into a turning point of the Civil War.
In the South, lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) can also transmit Lyme disease or a closely related illness. Ticks have four life stages: egg, larva, nymph and adult. In each stage after hatching, they suck blood from animals like mice, squirrels, birds and deer.
Other types of ticks have different life cycles and carry different diseases. Some examples important in human disease are the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) which transmits a Lyme-like disease called STARI; the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis); and the wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni).