Ventral view of an engorged female "lone star tick" Amblyomma americanum. An Ixodes or "hard" tick, A. americanum is found through the southeast and south-central states, and has been shown to transmit the spirochete, Borrelia lonestari, the pathogen responsible for causing a Lyme disease-like rash known as "Southern tick-associated rash illness" (STARI). Representatives from all three of its life stages aggressively bite people in the southern U.S. Lone star ticks can be found from central Texas and Oklahoma eastward across the southern states, and along the Atlantic coast as far north as Maine. Research indicates that live spirochetes are observed in only 1-3% of specimens. Note the anal orifice located in the center of the ventral abdominal surface.