Other disease-causing bacterial agents isolated from lone star ticks include Francisella tularensis, Rickettsia amblyommii, and Coxiella burnetti.

[3][7] It lives in wooded areas, particularly in second-growth forests with thick underbrush, where white-tailed deer (the primary host of mature ticks) reside.

[4][7][8] Lone star ticks can also be found in ecotonal areas (transition zones between different biomes) such as those between forest and grassland ecosystems.

[4]The tick has also been reported outside of its range in Canada, in areas of Southern Ontario, including in London, Wellington County, and the Region of Waterloo.

The time spent molting and questing off the host can occupy the remainder of 6 to 18 months for a single tick to complete its lifecycle.

The lifecycle timing is often expanded by diapause (delayed or inactivated development or activity) in adaptation to seasonal variation of moisture and heat.

Ticks are highly adapted for long-term survival off the host without feeding and can extract moisture directly from humid air.

[citation needed] The lone star tick is an aggressive, generalist feeder; it actively pursues blood meals and is not specific about the species of host upon which it feeds.

[6] The lifecycle begins when the blood-engorged adult female tick drops from her host, depositing around 5,000 eggs a few days later, once she has reached a safe and suitable location, such as in mulch or leaf litter.

[4] Adult lone star ticks usually feed on medium and large mammals,[6] and are very frequently found on white-tailed deer.

[2] Like all ticks, it can be a vector of diseases including human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia chaffeensis), canine and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia ewingii), tularemia (Francisella tularensis), and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI, possibly caused by the spirochete Borrelia lonestari).

[14][15] In 2013, in response to two cases of severe febrile illness occurring in two farmers in northwestern Missouri, researchers determined the lone star tick can transmit the heartland virus.