Lone Star Tick, female

Description:

Small, flat body, eight legs with grasping hooks on the ends. Adult females have a single squarish white dot on the dorsum. Aggressive feeders that require deer to complete their life cycle but will feed on a variety of mammals and birds depending on stage of life. This species is not known to transmit Lyme disease but can be a transmitter of several other tick-born diseases. Common in wooded areas.

Habitat:

Sears Bellows County Park, New York. Wooded campground.

Notes:

Pulled at least four of these buggers off me during the camping trip. I am a tick and mosquito magnet. :P