Talk notes: Bonus event for November 2024

We are so fortunate to live in this beautiful part of the world but also, we are incredibly lucky that so many people with expertise and interest in our natural environment live here too and are willing to share their knowledge with us too. On Thursday November 28th Dr Jolyon Medlock, Head of Medical Entomology, Porton Down, UK Health Security Agency talked to us about Ticks, mosquitoes and diseases.

An uneasy but fascinating listen for many of us, Jolyon took us on a tour of the world of ticks and then of mosquitoes and the diseases that they carry and transmit to us and other creatures.

Ticks are arachnids and metamorphose. They lurk on plant stems as nymphs where they “quest” for a suitable host to feed from their blood. They latch onto their host – they do not run or jump or fly. They have two key requirements: a moist microclimate or high humidity for survival away from a host and available hosts for blood-feeding.

They are found in habitats with suitable microclimates and hosts e.g. woodlands, heathland, grassland, parks and gardens. They are most active between March and July. The significant diseases they carry are Lyme borrelliosis, tick-borne encephalitis, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, rickettsial disease (spotted fever), relapsing
fever and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.

Jolyon’s message is – be aware, check yourself and your children’s and pets’ skin after being outdoors. Seek medical advice if you get a fever, rash or feel unwell after a tick bite.

Mosquitoes are insects. There are 36 species in the UK. Some species cause nuisance biting. Most are associated with wetlands. Some are only in tree holes.

Some species are very common in urban areas. They can fly approximately two hundred metres and so they are being transported in cars, trains, lorries and planes to reach further away from their origins.

Jolyon and his team are surveying for ticks and mosquitoes to enable governments to prepare for future contingency plans as climate change warms our world giving better environments for ticks and mosquitoes to survive and thrive and as we travel further and faster taking these unpleasant companions with us.

Mosquitoes are a food supply for many birds, fish and other creatures but ticks have no purpose but to make a pleasant day out turn into a potential medical emergency. You have been warned!

​Emma Procter