Groundhog ticks are widespread throughout much of southern Ontario and Quebec as well as in other southerly locations in eastern Canada where they make their homes in the dens of their hosts as far west as Manitoba. They look remarkably like blacklegged ticks in terms of size and other physical characteristics, so much so that the average person has difficulty telling them apart. One hint that you may be looking at a groundhog tick and not a blacklegged tick is that peak activity for adult groundhog ticks is in mid-summer while adult blacklegged ticks are most active in spring and fall.

This is a tick species that British Columbians know well.

Rocky Mountain wood ticks are, not surprisingly, predominantly found in the Rocky Mountain region of Canada. They are widespread throughout the BC interior where they’re often found in concert with Saskatoons (Amelanchier canadensis) and native roses (Rosa spp.).

When you take a look at the career of microbiologist George Chaconas, there’s a clearly identifiable moment when the focus of his research abruptly shifted from the study of one fairly obscure organism to another.

Powassan virus has been generating headlines in Canada in recent months following news reports that an Ottawa woman developed encephalitis in the wake of a tick bite more than a year ago and has been hooked up to a ventilator ever since.