"With over 125,000 accessioned lots, over one million specimens, their associated data, and an extensive library (reprints, monographs, and books), the U.S. National Tick collection is one of the largest curated tick collections in the World, if not the largest," the Georgia Southern University says.

"It belongs to the U.S. National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution) and has been housed at Georgia Southern University since 1990. The collection contains specimens from all continents, most of the approximately 860 known species of ticks, and a quarter of the primary tick types.

"Ticks (Ixodida) are haematophagous mites (Acari). During their blood meal, ticks can acquire and/or transmit a number of microorganisms, some of which can cause diseases in humans, domestic and wild animals. Because of the impact of ticks on human and veterinary medicine, the USNTC is not only a significant resource of material and information for tick taxonomists but also for public health officials."

"To get to the US National Tick Collection, visitors to the campus of Georgia Southern University must descend into the bowels of the Math/Physics Building, where sunlight is absent and locked doors with unpronounceable signs prohibit entry," the CNN reports.

"Inside the collection, an elaborate camera for shooting closeups of ticks has made its home in a cramped room. It has a strobe-light effect to capture precise images of individual ticks splayed on white backgrounds, and as she operates the camera, Beati’s palce face appears in shadow and light.

"The national tick collection is part of the Smithsonian Institution and is the world’s largest, by every account. Housed at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro since 1990, the collection contains over a million specimens representing 96% of the world’s 900 recognized tick species, including all those found in the United States."

"The U.S. National Tick Collection is the largest collection of ticks in the world. The vital function of the collection is to separate ticks that are medically and financially important from those that are common.

"The collection is owned and curated by the Smithsonian Institution, but housed on the campus of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia where it is under the auspices of the university's Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology. The current curator of the collection is Lorenza Beati who was appointed late in 2011 and who is also an associate professor of Biology at Georgia Southern University. Beati holds an M.D. and Ph.D.

"The tick collection contains 850 separate species of tick. Evidence suggests that the collection is "larger than all other world tick collections combined" containing almost one million specimens. The tick collection aids parasitic research which is of interest to health and agriculture because some species of tick carry Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The collection's specimens are freeze dried, bottled and coated so as to appear more vividly under a microscope." (Wikipedia)

"The collection, which is housed on the Georgia Southern University campus in Statesboro, Georgia, is considered to be the largest continuously curated collection of ticks in the world. The collection’s count hovers at more than one million specimens and continues to grow," the Smithsonian Magazine says.

"Since 1990 the collection, which belongs to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, has been on long-term loan with the university due to its strong focus on the study of entomology. Thanks to its location on campus, it’s readily available to students, researchers and the public to view and study (the assemblage of creepy crawlies is particularly popular among local elementary school groups).

"The collection’s comprehensive array of specimens contains ticks representing all seven continents (yes, this includes Antarctica, where ticks have been found feasting on the blood of seabirds) and nearly all of the approximately 860 known species of ticks found around the world. And there’s one person in particular who has an encyclopedic knowledge of every aspect of the collection: Lorenza Beati."

"Surprisingly enough, we actually have the world’s largest collection of ticks in Georgia. Georgia Southern University in Statesboro is the permanent home of this collection that absolutely dwarfs every other curated collection of ticks on the planet," the Only In Your State says.

"While the thought of all those ticks might be making your skin crawl, know that they serve a vital scientific purpose. Public health officials study ticks to help treat tick-borne illnesses in both humans and animals.

"The majority of the collection is open to the public by appointment only, but you can find a selection of specimens on permanent exhibit on the lowest floor of the Math/Physics building at the Statesboro campus."

"Started in the early 20th Century, the collection was originally part of the Rocky Mountain Lab in Hamilton, Montana. In the early 1980s, the collection was donated to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Due to lack of space and funds, the collection was loaned to Georgia Southern University in 1990 and has been housed there ever since,"- the Atlas Obscura says.

"Still owned by the Smithsonian Institution, the massive collection holds tick specimens from across the globe. The collection contains well over one million individual specimens across approximately 860 separate species of the blood-sucking parasite. The assembled specimens were collected from every continent on the globe, found lurking in nearly every imaginable climate.

"The U.S. National Tick Collection is open to visitors by appointment. There is a permanent exhibit outside of the collection that is accessible whenever the university is open. The collection is located on the bottom floor of the Math/Physics Building on the North end of campus. Once in the building, follow the signs to get there."

"With over 125,000 accessioned lots, over one million specimens, their associated data, and an extensive library (reprints, monographs, and books), the U.S. National Tick collection is one of the largest curated tick collections in the World, if not the largest. It belongs to the U.S. National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution) and has been housed at Georgia Southern University since 1990. The collection contains specimens from all continents, most of the approximately 860 known species of ticks, and a quarter of the primary tick types," the Museums USA says.

"Ticks (Ixodida) are haematophagous mites (Acari). During their blood meal, ticks can acquire and/or transmit a number of microorganisms, some of which can cause diseases in humans, domestic and wild animals. Because of the impact of ticks on human and veterinary medicine, the USNTC is not only a significant resource of material and information for tick taxonomists but also for public health officials.

"The U.S. National Tick Collection has a long tradition of accommodating national and international researchers for more or less extended periods of time. The collection is accessible and made available to visitors, as are our laboratories."

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