|
Deer Tick
|
|
|
Source: NOAA
This image is in public domain.
|
|
|
|
More About Ticks and Mites ...
|
Tick is the common name for the small wingless arachnids that, along with mites, comprise the order Acarina. Ticks are external parasites, living off the blood of mammals, birds, and occasionally reptiles and amphibians.
The major families of tick include the Ixodidae or hard ticks, which have thick outer shells made of chitin, and Argasidae or soft ticks, which have a membraneous outer surface. Soft ticks typically live in crevices and emerge briefly to feed, while hard ticks will embed themselves beneath the skin of a host for long periods of time.
Ticks can transmit human diseases such as relapsing fever, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, equine encephalitis and several forms of ehrlichiosis. Additionally, they are responsible for transmitting livestock diseases, including babesiosis and anaplasmosis. Generally, tick-borne diseases correspond to a specific tick-host combination, and are limited in their geographical extent.
Ticks are often found in tall grass, where they will rest themselves at the tip of a blade so as to attach themselves to a passing animal or human. They will generally drop off of the animal when full, but this may take several days. Ticks contain a structure in their mouth area that allows them to anchor themselves firmly in place while sucking blood. Pulling a tick out forcefully out from under the skin often leaves the head behind. See also Tick removal.
Dermacentor variabilis, the American dog tick, is perhaps the most well-known of the North American hard ticks. Ixodes dammini, the deer tick, is common to the eastern part of North America and is known for spreading Lyme disease
Each species of tick requires three different hosts to complete its life cycle. Generally, the larval stage feeds on small reptiles, birds, or mammals, and the adult will parasitize larger mammals.
|
|
Source: Wikipedia Read more about Ticks and Mites
|
|
|
INFO LINKS
|
Red Bug
Pelotes Island Nature Preserve
asked questions on red bug. Also called chigger, "A redbug is actually a baby mite". Read More
|
Lyme Disease
lyme.org
Frequently asked questions like "What is Lyme Disease?, How is Lyme disease transmitted?" Read More
|
Mite
tolweb.org
Information on characterestics, phylogenetic relationships, references, etc. "The ticks are an exception, in that they are usually big enough to see, especially when they are filled with blood". Read More
|
Tick
Pelotes Island Nature Preserve
Frequently answered questions. "Some ticks carry a sickness called Lyme disease. Not all ticks carry the disease". Simple language. Good for school work Read More
|
Tick
entomology.ucdavis.edu
"Ticks are blood feeding external parasites of mammals, birds, and reptiles throughout the world". Read More
|
Deer Tick
Iowa State's Deer Tick Home Page
"Ixodes scapularis, the black-legged or deer tick, has four life stages". Read More
|
Clover Mite
University of Kentucky, Entomology
categorized information on description, habits, lifecycle and controls Read More
|
Deer Tick
The Longpoint schoolhouse
Life cycle information Read More
|
Dust Mite
Microscopy-UK
Dustmites - a tale of love and passion between the sheets Read More
|
Chigger
The Longpoint schoolhouse
"The chigger, one of 30,000 species of mites, has three pairs of legs as a larva and four pairs as a nymph and an adult". Very brief information. Read More
|
Deer Tick
iowa state
All Four Deer Tick Stages Read More
|
|
