13 Tick characteristics: 11 Facts You Should Know!

Ticks are a group of invertebrate arthropod animals who belong to superorder Parasitiformes and order Ixodida. Let us have a closer look at the characteristics of ticks in detail.

  • The tick species are external parasites who live on the body of mammals, reptiles, birds or amphibians and feed on their blood. 
  • They are classified into two different families- Ixodidae or hard ticks and the Argasidae or soft ticks.
  • The length of the body of tick species varies from 3 mm to 5 mm.
  • The body of a tick consists of a capitulum (head) and a flattened body (idiosoma) containing the digestive tract, reproductive organs and legs. The cephalothorax and abdomen are fused together.
  • The capitulum is the false head of ticks which neither have the brain nor the eyes. 
  • They bear sensory parts in their legs which help them to sense the odour, body heat, and vibrations in the environment. 
  • The adult body has eight legs but after hatching from eggs the nymph forms have only six legs. 
  • On the dorsal surface of the body, the hard ticks have a hard shield called scutum which distinguishes them from the soft ticks. 
  • Another major characteristic of hard ticks is a beak-like structure at the front part of the capitulum containing the mouthparts.
  • The mouth parts, gnathosoma of tick species, contain two palps, two chelicerae, and a hypostome.
  • The soft ticks do not have scutum and they have their mouth parts underneath their body. 
  • Most tick species comprise four different life stages such as- egg, larva, nymph and adult. 

Let us discuss if ticks are insects, if they are active in winter or are attracted to white along with their colour, habitat and many other related facts in this article.

Are ticks insects?

Ticks are parasitic arthropods belonging to the class Arachnida whereas insects belong to the class Insecta. Let us find out if ticks are insects or not.

Ticks are not insects. Insects comprises three body parts (head, thorax and abdomen), along with compound eyes and six legs. Whereas the body of ticks comprises only two parts, the capitulum and idiosoma, which have eight legs in adult firm. It lacks eyes and brain also. Hence ticks are not insects.

Though ticks are not insects, they are very closely related members, and both are classified under phylum Arthropoda. The premature stage of ticks (nymph form) also have six jointed legs just like insects have.

Tick characteristics
Ticks. Image Credits: Wikimedia commons

Are ticks parasites?

Parasites are a type of organism that live and feed on their host body and are completely dependent on the host for their survival. Let us find out if ticks are parasites or not.

Ticks are parasites. They live on the bodies of mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians and feed on them by sucking their blood. Some tick species transmit pathogens to their host body causing severe health issues. 

Are ticks active in winter?

Ticks are cold-blooded, obtaining heat from the surrounding environment to regulate their internal body temperature. Let us find out if ticks are active or not in winter. 

Ticks remain less active during the winter season. As they fail to obtain more heat from their surroundings at that time, their metabolic rate becomes slower and they become less active. When the temperature remains above the freezing point, they hide themselves and remain less active.

Are ticks active at night?

Certain arthropods remain most active during the daytime whereas some arthropods are nocturnal predators also. Let us find out if ticks are active at night or not.

Ticks can remain active at night time. They do not have eyes, instead they have special sensory parts. They attach to a host body by sensing their odour, breathing and vibration via their sensory organs. That is why they remain active whether it is daytime or night time.

Are ticks attracted to white?

Ticks do not have eyes to see, they only use their sensory organs to sense the surroundings. Let us find out if ticks are attracted to white colour or not.

Ticks are attracted to white colour. According to studies, it is found that ticks are more attracted to brighter colours than the darker ones. Their sensory organs make them feel more attracted to white coloured hosts such as white coloured clothes or animals like white tailed deer, field mice, etc. 

Are ticks black?

There are more than 900 species of ticks found worldwide. They show colour diversities in between them. Let us know if ticks are black or not.

There are many species of ticks that are black in colour. Though they show huge colour diversities vary from species to species, most of the tick species show black or dark brown to bright red colours.

Are ticks blind?

Ticks do most of their activities depending on their sensory organs. Let us find out if ticks are blind or not.

Ticks are blind as they do not have eyes to see. Instead of eyes, they have special sensory organs in their legs called fore-tarsal Haller’s organ situated in the first pair of legs in the body of ticks which helps them to sense their surroundings.

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Blind soft tick. Image credits: Wikimedia commons

Are ticks decomposers?

Decomposers are a group of organisms that by breaking dead and decaying organisms keep the nutrients recycled. Let us know if ticks are decomposers or not.

Ticks are not decomposers. They do not play any role in breaking dead and decaying organisms. They are external parasites who live on other organisms’ bodies and feed on them by sucking their blood. 

Are ticks fast?

Ticks have six legs during their premature forms and eight legs in adult forms These legs help them mainly in locomotion. Let us know if ticks are fast or not.

Ticks are fast during crawling in their host bodies. But their locomotion also depends on environmental factors because they are cold blooded animals. They have to obtain heat from the surroundings to regulate body temperature. Hence in the summer or spring season, they remain much faster than in winters.

Are ticks found in groups?

Some organisms live in group, while some others do not. Let us find out if ticks are found in groups or not.

Ticks are found in groups in the host body. Ticks always do not live in social groups. A single tick is capable of attacking its host. But in the case of female ticks, they soon attack their host and lay thousands of eggs in its host body and after hatching they all live in that host body.

Are ticks mites?

Mites are a group of arthropod animals belonging to class arachnida. Let us find out if ticks are mites or not.

Ticks are not mites. Mites are decomposers whereas ticks are external parasites. Though they have some similarities like not having eyes or brain, and having four pairs of jointed legs, they are different from each other.

Conclusion

As a whole we can say that ticks are one of the most important arthropod animals. They are external parasites on different vertebrates including mammals. Here we discuss tick characteristics in detail. Hope this article on tick characteristics will be helpful to you.

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