Amblyomma maculatum

Amblyomma maculatum is a species of tick in the genus Amblyomma. Immatures usually infest small mammals and birds that dwell on the ground; cotton rats may be particularly favored hosts. Some recorded hosts include: In 2013, the infectious agent of American tick bite fever, Rickettsia parkeri was detected in a female A. maculatum collected at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, near Smyrna, Delaware, providing the first evidence of association of this pathogen of humans with this species of tick in the state.