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- Appearance
- The black-legged or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, can be recognized by its much smaller size and reddish dorsal appearance. Females have a shorter dorsal plate and a “tear-drop shape". Males are smaller with a rounder dorsal plate that covers most of their body. The mouth parts of the female black-legged deer tick are longer than the male and longer than the American dog tick mouth parts. The larval tick is no bigger than the size of the period at the end of this sentence.
- Habit
- After settling on their hosts, ticks essentially turn into an automatic pump, extracting blood for nourishment. After finishing her final blood meal, the engorged female hard tick drops off the host animal and can lay from 2,000 to 18,000 eggs on the ground.
- Diet
- The feed off the blood of their hosts.
- Reproduction
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After finishing her final blood meal, the engorged female hard tick drops off the host animal and can lay from 2,000 to 18,000 eggs on the ground.
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