Ixodes ricinus - Full

- No description given -

comments (7)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Wooooowwwww! That's insane!

Whom was the victim? And why do they turn silver? Posted 4 years ago
1. Pudding4brains
  
  Lion
  
  It's an older image, but I suppose the victim must have been Jeanette's dog she still had at the time (died a year later or so). Don't know about the silver ... sorry. Posted 4 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Sorry about the dog and thanks for the answer. We'll just wait for tick-obsessed Christine regarding the silver. Posted 4 years ago
  2. 1. Christine Young
      
      Lion
      
      The grayish part is the tick's body. Before taking a bloodmeal, the scutum (that's the hard, small, brownish, oval part you see above the head in this photo) covers about half of a female's dorsal surface. BUT, it doesn't cover her entire dorsal surface so that she can expand dramatically as she feasts on blood. They ingest up to 600 mg of blood, although they excrete much of the actual liquid part. So, her body basically expands about 200 times its original size after feeding! Crazy, right?! So, she looks grayish silver because her body has expanded a lot, thus diffusing the color. Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        See how much larger the scutum looks in an unfed female:
        
        Posted 4 years ago
      2. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        It was a good bait. Amazing answer, thanks so much! Posted 4 years ago
      3. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Lol, you got me. I can't resist talking about the gross creatures. You're welcome :). Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago

The Castor Bean Tick

Ixodes ricinus is a chiefly European species of hard-bodied tick. It may reach a length of 11 mm when engorged with a blood meal, and can transmit both bacterial and viral pathogens such as the causative agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.

Info 11 4

Similar species: Ticks

Species identified by Pudding4brains