Host-seeking and fed larvae and nymphs of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, were placed in mesh packets and in vials in the leaf litter on the floor of mixed deciduous forest, Virginia pine-southern red oak forest, and white pine plantations with and without Nepal microstegium, Microstegium vimineum (Trinius) A. Camus. An introduced shade-tolerant grass, Nepal microstegium, is expanding its range northeastward into areas densely populated with I. scapularis. As determined by flag sampling, the density of host-seeking nymphs at the Virginia pine sites was much lower than in the other habitats. None of the four habitats appeared to be consistently more favorable or unfavorable for the survival of confined fed and unfed I. scapularis larvae and nymphs. More unfed nymphs survived in vials than in packets in Virginia pine and white pine with Nepal grass sites. Fed larvae and nymphs tended to survive the summer better than unfed ticks.
