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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Ticks carrying Lyme disease may have infiltrated Montana; found on bird dog
A Bozeman hunter’s bird dog in eastern Montana was found with an Ixodes scapularis tick, raising concerns that Lyme disease–carrying ticks might be establishing themselves in the region.
Billings, Montana, United States
Spokesman.com

The glaciers in Finnmark are melting the fastest of Norway's glaciers
The glaciers in Finnmark, particularly the Øksfjordjøkelen, are melting rapidly, with significant shrinkage observed each year, raising concerns about climate change impacts.
Øksfjordjøkelen, Loppa, Finnmark
NRK
Kristina Brekke, Hanne Larsen, Bent Lindsetmo, Kai Erik Bull, Vanja Ulfsnes

Tick carrying Lyme disease bacteria found on dog in N.W.T.
A Lyme disease-carrying tick was found on a dog in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., with uncertainty about whether the tick originated locally or from a southern province.
Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC

Rocky Mountain spotted fever outbreak in Campinas, São Paulo State
The Ministry of Health confirms the occurrence of three deaths from Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in Campinas/São Paulo, referring to an outbreak in the municipality.
Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
Outbreak News Today

Canada's bee colonies see worst loss in 20 years, explosion of mites blamed
Nearly half of Canada's honeybee colonies didn't survive the winter, the largest rate of colony loss in the country in the last 20 years, according to preliminary data. The president of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists calls the finding "pretty disturbing."
Canada
CBC

Makut negairuut, Nunapicuarmi negat amllerluteng, Spider webs cover vast area
*The spiders are usually in multiple form in most areas, but it has not been witnessed in this form.* This is described as a spider "ballooning" event, the term used when spiders launch themselves in to the air. These events might be happening more frequently as warming Arctic temperatures has been associated with increases in the population of some spider species such as the wolf spider (see Spider Baby Boom in Warming Arctic), and spiders moving further north and also having more then one hatch per season.
Nunapitchuk, Alaska, United States
Santina Gay, Lauren Divine, Jacqualine Schaeffer, Theodora Nicholai, Russell Cameron , Joey Billy, Derek Sikes

Unidentified spider in Anchorage
Unidentified spider observed outside of a commercial building.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Here winter has become two months shorter
Winter will never be the way it was, according to scientists. Towards the end of the century, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute predicts that the winter weather will gradually disappear from Oslo.
Bodø, Nordland, Norway
NRK

Marine vomit spread along the western coast of Norway
A self-cloning and invincible enemy invades coastal areas. The carpet sea squirt (Didemnum vexillum) or “marine vomit” have been observed nearby Stavanger and Bergen. Large yellow flakes has spread on the seabed and kills everything beneath. It may grow on boats and can spread along the coast.
Engøysundet, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway
NRK
Josef Benoni Ness Tveit, Håkon Mannsåker

Maritime wet weather may be reason behind increase in ticks this summer: researcher
Karley was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Her mother was told a tick bite was the likely cause. Just as we caught it, she was also developing Bell's Palsy, which was on the left side of her face, said Shields. The condition can cause one side of the face to droop. It would traumatizing for any person, but especially a 10-year-old.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Atlantic

He has lived for 74 years – for the first time the river is dry
Extreme drought in the west means that households with private waterworks are out of water. Elvar's dried up. "The situation is very serious," he says.
Skinlo, Breim, Vestland, Norway

Abnormal abundance of ticks
My colleague who has been doing this work for over 35 years indicated that he has never experienced that many ticks.
Scott Road Landfill (near Cardinal)
Chyna Williams, Andrea Sare, David Oswald

Tick found on dog on Anchorage Hillside
An unidentified tick was found on the nose of a dog in the backyard of a home in south Anchorage. Neither the family nor their pet had been traveling recently. The identification of the tick species is pending.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

No treasure found under the rainbow: The soil is full of plastic garbage
In the pictures, Måøya looks like a pristine natural gem on the coast of Trøndelag. But when scientists and adolescents started digging into the soil, they got shock.
Måøya, Frøya, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
Solvår Flatås, Stein Lorentzen, Morten Andersen

Unusual Spider is Actually a Mite
Closely resembling a spider, this long legged mite belongs to the family Erythraeoidae and can be found in many different environments across Alaska.
Newhalen, Alaska, United States

Large landslides have passed in Alta
One person was evacuated and brought to safety after the landslide at Kråkneset in Alta municipality. A total of eight buildings were swept to the sea in the 650-metre landslide. Due to a high avalanche risk, police have still not entered the area.
Kråkenes, Alta, Norway
Sofie Dege Dimmen, Ida Loise Rostad, Idun Aalbu Rasmussen, Jo Hermstad Tronsen

Where is our spring? Locals in Western Siberia say it feels like they skipped a season
Abnormally hot May weather resembles midsummer with air temperatures as high as +35C.
Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarskiy, Russia
Siberia Times

The coffins should be safely in the permafrost – now more emergency need to be excavated
Permafrosten på Svalbard kunne gitt dem evig liv. Men nå er historien til hundrevis av hvalfangere i ferd med å tine bort.
Likneset, Svalbard, Svalbard and Jan Mayen

The tick season is underway - The earliest I've heard of
From April to November, most dog owners are used to checking their dogs for small crawling ticks that have become stuck in the fur of their pets.
Moss, Østfold, Norway

Tick, tock: Finland's ticks still thirst for blood
The incidence of ticks at all of Turku University’s research sites in Turku as well as in Helsinki has risen over the past 20 years, and they can still active into the fall, even after periods of freezing weather. Southwestern Finland and Uusimaa have reported 29 cases of tick-borne encephalitis and some 1,500 people have contracted Lyme disease, an illness caused by ticks carrying Borrelia burgdorferi.
Turku, Southwest Finland, Finland
Yle Uutiset

Ticks on Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Steller's jay has one tick on each foot. The ticks may be a species that is commonly found on birds or a species that was picked up from a mammal as the bird was scavenging.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Spider Population May Be Increasing
The crab spider, *Misumena vatia*, is a species well-known throughout Interior, Southcentral, and Southeast Alaska. Little is known about changes in their abundance.
Klawock, Alaska

Second Tick I Have Pulled off My Dog This Summer
"He could have picked it up in the backyard or on an earlier walk to the park."
Pamela Szatanek, Kimberlee Beckmen, Louisa Castrodale, Micah Hahn

Unidentified Spider - Brown Recluse, Wolf Spider, or Something Else?
Unidentified urban garden spider. Without a photo or a specimen, confirmation of the species is impossible.

Tick that makes people allergic to red meat spotted in Ontario
A veterinary clinic in southern Ontario is sounding the alarm after discovering a rare tick known to cause a meat allergy in humans.
London, Ontario, Canada
CTVNews

Disappearance of Tundra Ponds
Kettle ponds in Denali National Park contain less water this spring than in previous years, due to low snowfall and permafrost thaw. Shrubs are replacing grasses as the lakes dry.
McKinley Park, Alaska, United States
Scott Richardson, Katie Spellman, Richard L Thoman Jr

Spread of the Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) into Southern Ontario
Welland, Ontario, Canada

A veil of spider webs is taking over entire town
The phenomenon is rare, although the webs have appeared before in other parts of the country. According to arachnologist Maria Chatzaki, they are always from the same type of spider: the Tetragnatha genus, a tiny critter no longer than 2 centimeters, or 0.7 inches.
Aitoliko, West Greece, Greece
WTAE

A 300-metre-long spiderweb has been woven in Greece
There's nothing for humans to worry about. Gnats, on the other hand...
Aitoliko, West Greece, Greece
Global News

Ticks arriving in Yukon as stowaways
Yukon's animal health unit says there were four ticks found on people and pets in the territory this summer. Lab results revealed three different species of ticks including the rocky mountain wood tick and the American dog tick — are not found in Yukon.
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
CBC

New tick discovered in New York and Vermont
The tick is not native to the U.S., but was found in several locations in Westchester County.
Westchester County, New York, United States
WTEN

Dog owners issued warning as deer ticks move into Calgary backyards
Deer ticks have made the jump from the mountains to city backyards, putting your dog at risk of contracting Lyme disease in the summer heat.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Wisconsin reports first death from Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is an uncommon but potentially deadly tick-borne disease that's on the rise in the United States.
Wisconsin, United States
CNN

Red meat allergy transmitted by ticks on the rise; species found in Alabama, Southeast
The Lone Star Tick reprograms the human immune system to reject beef, pork, chicken and other red meats. It can also cause dairy allergies.
Alabama, United States
AL.com

Tick reports increasing in Niagara
Despite facing drastic increase in the number of ticks being reported in Niagara, the region’s acting medical officer of health says the chance of getting Lyme disease remain relatively low.
Wainfleet Bog, Ontario, Canada
StCatharinesStandard.ca

Dead Hare Infested with Ticks
A dead hare was observed in Interior Alaska that was infested with a native species of tick. Wildlife officials are asking residents to keep an eye out for ticks on pets and for signs of tick infestation in large mammals, such as hair loss in moose.
Fort Yukon, Alaska, United States
Melinda L Peter, Kimberlee Beckmen, Louisa Castrodale

Wolf Spider (Lycosidae) in Teller
Possible wolf spider seen in Teller
Teller, Alaska, United States

Unusual Spiders by the Dozen
Spiders possibly wolf spiders of family (*Lycosidae*) numbering some 75 to 100 were seen on top of snow along Boulder Creek road and lagoon.
Wales, Alaska, United States

A swarming, exotic tick species is now living year round in N.J.
A tick species that was discovered for the first time in the U.S. on a Hunterdon County farm last year has survived the winter.
Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States
NJ.com

Tick-infested moose a 1st for Cree territory in Northern Quebec
A parasite wreaking havoc on moose populations in southern Quebec has been found for the first time in Cree territory, prompting local officials to ask hunters to be on the lookout. Winter ticks thrive in the shorter, warmer winters, which have become more prevalent in recent years.
Nemaska, Quebec, Canada

Entomologist tracks the year in Alaska bugs
Bugs of various shapes and sizes are part of life in Alaska, and it can be easy for them to escape notice.
Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Woman dies from new, rare tick-borne virus
'No one had ever heard of it': Woman dies from rare tick-borne virus.
Miramiguoa State Park, Missouri, United States
KWWL

Ticks Gorge on Squirrel
These ticks may have been an example of one native species in Alaska.
Bryers Lake State Recreation Area, Alaska , United States

Gansevoort man died after contracting rare tick virus
The state Department of Health announced Wednesday that a Saratoga County resident died in recent months after contracting a rare tick-borne illness known as Powassan Virus.
Gansevoort, New York, United States
Glens Falls Post-Star

Tick discovered in Yellowknife, being tested for Lyme disease
It appears ticks have made their way to Yellowknife - one of the blood-thirsty bugs was plucked off a dog over the weekend.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC News

Lone Star Tick invades Southeast
Tick season is here and it's no secret the parasites can transmit dangerous diseases.But there's a relatively new and rare tick-borne disorder that causes an allergic reaction to red meat called 'Alpha Gal.'Jasmine Bailey reports how the tick that carries
Mobile, Alabama, United States
WPMI

Ticks are flourishing in St. Lawrence County, Lyme disease rates likely higher than tracking shows
Saint Lawrence County, New York, United States
NorthCountryNow

Scientists: Tick population exploding across Long Island
Scientists predict a record year for ticks on Long Island and the rest of the Northeast, and they are attributing the surge to a confluence
Long Island, New York, United States
Newsday

Explosion of Deadly Ticks Fueled by Climate Change, Ravaging Moose, Infecting People and Pets
EnviroNews Exclusive: Warmer, shorter winters due to climate change are a boon for the ticks that harm people, their pets and wildlife, scientists told EnviroNews in a series of exclusive interviews for this report. A walk in the woods can be refreshing, fun and good exercise.
Canada-United States, North America
EnviroNews DC News Bureau

Yukon species list shows climate change in action
A big emphasis in the last few years has been updating and adding to the list of species known to occur in the Yukon.
This past year, a whopping 1,973 species of plants, insects and animals have been added.
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
CBC News

Amazon Deforestation, Once Tamed, Comes Roaring Back
"A decade after the “Save the Rainforest” movement captured the world’s imagination, Cargill and other food giants are pushing deeper into the wilderness."
Coari, Amazonas, Brazil
HIROKO TABUCHI, CLAIRE RIGBY and JEREMY WHITE

Logging Crew Mobilizes Near Irreplaceable Wetland, Slated for Site C Flooding
Watson Slough, Peace River region
DeSmog Canada

Jumping Spiders (Salticidae) in School
A spider was found in a class room, not sure what it is.
Sand Point, Alaska, United States
Derek Sikes, Jessie Moan, Karis Porcincula

Exotic ticks found on Alaska dogs, Alaskans
Ticks that infest red squirrels, snowshoe hares and a variety of birds have always been present in Alaska, but a team of biologists and veterinarians recently found five non-native ticks on Alaska dogs and people.
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Exotic ticks appear to be establishing themselves in Alaska
Researchers are finding ticks in Alaska that haven't historically been here. Some hitchhiked from the Lower 48—but others seem to have settled in.
Anchorage Daily News

Araña grande al norte de Ensenada, México
Ampliación Balcones de la Presa, Baja California, Mexico
Martin Severo Ubina Audelo, Margarita Delgadillo A., Luis Navarro Verduzco

Unusual Spider (Araneus marmoreus)?
Unusual Spider?
Shishmaref, Alaska, United States

Early Breakup Causing Lots of Change
Early breakup brings early arrivals.
Lower Kalskag, Alaska, United States

Psoroptic Mange (Psoroptis ovis) in Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)
South Okanagan Similkameen
Penticton, British Columbia, Canada

Ticks already on the move – take the necessary precautions
The first ticks have been observed in the northwest region of Oulu, meaning they are assuredly on the loose already further south. Entomologist Reima Leinonen recommends that people who have been enjoying the outdoors take a shower at the end of the day to help check for ticks.
Oulu, Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland
Yle Uutiset

Winter Spider
11-24-14 Winter spider - Togiak, Alaska, USA
Togiak, Alaska, United States

Unusual Spider
8-1-14 Unusual spider - Wales, Alaska, USA
Wales, Alaska, United States

Mystery Mite
Mystery mite
Nome, Alaska, United States

Unusual Spider
9-11-13 Unusual spider - Chignik, Lagoon, Alaska, USA
Chignik Lagoon, Alaska, United States

Spider Webs Covering Acres of Grasslands
Spider webs covering vegetation along the Noatak River Delta resemble a mass "ballooning" event reported in Unalaska.
Noatak River Delta

Quebec is in a 'high tick year' and the white-tailed deer boom isn't helping
The mild winter and fluctuating spring temperature appears to have led to a tick boom in Quebec, a province where cases of Lyme disease have been steadily climbing for years.
Quebec, Canada

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