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It is barely 8 mm tall, yet its presence is enough to worry both hikers and health specialists. Faster, bigger, and potentially much more dangerous than a classic tick, Hyalomma marginatum is rehearsing of it. This species, native to much warmer areas, gradually settles in France. But why does it raise so much alert? And above all, what risks does it really represent?
A tick from elsewhere, determined to stay
Behind this somewhat barbaric scientific name, there is a giant tick very different from those that we usually encounter in our forests. Hyalomma marginatum is two to three times larger than a "classic" tick and is recognized by its legs adorned with white and brown rings, and its sharp clamps.
Long confined to North Africa, the Balkans and Turkey, this tick has found a new playing field with global warming: southern France. It has already been spotted in more than twenty departments, including Ardèche, Landes, Var and Alpes-Maritimes.
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