Dermacentor variabilis
American Dog Tick
Female American Dog Tick
Male
Dermacentor variabilis
American Dog Tick
Female American Dog Tick
Male
|
The American Dog Tick is the largest of the eastern wood ticks, and the one you are most likely to see. Ticks are arachnids and, like their spider cousins, have eight legs. The American Dog Tick is reddish-brown with white or yellow markings. The male tick is about 1/8 inch long, and the female is slightly larger. She will get much bigger (about 1/2 inch), though, after she drinks her fill of blood. Ticks are parasites, and they must find a mammal host for blood. They use their claws to grab onto a host and then dig under the skin with their mouthparts. Their mouth lets out a chemical, which is an anesthesia, to keep the host from knowing it's there. The tick can then bury its head in the host's flesh and drink as much blood as it wants. |
Copyright, Tom Murray |
American Dog Ticks are known as
"three-host ticks," because they have three different host animals in
their lifetime. First, the larva
hatches from its egg. Larvae only have six legs, like an
insect. The larva will stay on the ground
or climb up a plant or shrub
to wait for a host to pass by.
|
Monmouth County Mosquito Commission American Dog Tick Larva |
Monmouth County Mosquito Commission American Dog Tick Nymph |
Copyright, Joyce Gross |
Copyright,Tony DiTerlizzi |
Jim Kalisch
Once the nymph has grabbed a new host, it will again drink more blood, this time for about six days. It will again drop from its host and molt. This time it may take weeks before it molts and becomes an adult tick.
The male and female ticks will again look for a host, their third one. It will most likely be a larger mammal, such as a raccoon, opossum, fox, skunk, woodchuck, deer, dog, or human. This time the male will not feed. The female will feed on the host, and the male will mate with her while she feeds. After mating, the male will die and the female will drop off the host to lay eggs on the ground. She will lay over 4,000 eggs and the cycle will begin again. If a tick can't find a host in any of its stages, it can survive up to two years.
Jim Kalisch
Because American Dog Ticks have flat bodies, and a hard, protective "shield," they are not easily injured, and they have few predators.
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Relationships in Nature:
Human Human H
Relationship to Humans:
Few people can find a good use for ticks. They can be dangerous parasites for you and yor pets since they carry diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease. They are being collected and studied in order to find cures for these diseases.
