ACARI

MITES & TICKS

 Mites and ticks, collectively known as the

Acari, constitute the second most diverse
group of animals on the planet today and
are of interest to humans for a variety of
reasons. They directly affect our well being
as parasites, vectors of disease, and
producers of allergens.

Three things distinguish

acari from insects:
(1)The head, thorax, and abdomen are
fused into one body segment;
(2) they do not have wings and
antennae; and
(3) in the nymph and adult stages they
have four pairs of legs.

Ticks

Ticks are blood feeding external parasites

of mammals, birds, and reptiles throughout
the world. Approximately 850 species have
been described worldwide. There are two
well established families of ticks, the
Ixodidae (hard ticks), and Argasidae (soft
ticks).

Soft tick (left) and Hard tick (right)

Both are important vectors of disease

causing agents to humans and animals
throughout the world. Ticks transmit the
widest variety of pathogens of any blood
sucking arthropod, including bacteria,
rickettsiae, protozoa, and viruses.

Hard Ticks

Hard Ticks are distinguished by a

dorsal shield. The dorsal shield is small
in the female, but in the male it covers
the entire dorsal surface. Hard ticks are
also tapered anteriorly and the
mouthparts are readily visible from the
dorsal view.

Soft Ticks

Soft Ticks are leathery and without a

dorsal shield. Their mouthparts are
subterminally attached and not visible
from the dorsal view.

Morphological differences
hard ticks
soft ticks
capitulum
scutum
pedipalpi

anterior to body
visible from dorsum
present

invisible from
dorsum

strong,
non-movable

movable, active

with small
difference of evident(female
scutum;body larger) male
sexes
smaller with large scutum
position of
behind base of 4th
stigmal plate pair of leg

Not present

not evident, female

larger

between 3rd and

4th pair of leg

Soft tick (left) and Hard tick (right)

Scanning Electron Micrograph

of Tick Mouthparts

Hard Tick (Family Ixodidae)

Soft Tick

Life Cycle

Developmental Stages
of Ticks
The life cycle of ticks includes four
stages: egg, six-legged larva, eightlegged nymph, and adult.
Hard ticks have a variety of life histories
with respect to optimizing their chance of
contact with an appropriate host to ensure
survival.

One Host Tick Lifecycle

Two Host Tick Lifecycle

Three Host Tick Lifecycle

The Egg
Mating of hard ticks usually occurs while
they are on the host animal. Afterwards the
female drops to the ground and, after a brief
pre-oviposition period of three to 10 days,
begins to deposit eggs on or near the earth.
The female hard tick feeds once, lays one
large batch of eggs sometimes numbering
in the thousands, and dies.

The Egg

Most of the soft ticks engorge with

blood several times and deposit
about 20 to 50 eggs in a batch after
each blood meal. Eggs hatch in two
weeks to several months, depending
upon temperature, humidity and other
environmental factors.

The Larva

The larvae, or seed ticks, have only

six legs, and the sexes are
indistinguishable. Their chances of
attaching to a host are precarious (
), sometimes resulting in
prolonged fasts().

The Larva

Despite tolerance to starvation, a very high

percentage die. Some individuals climb on
vegetation, waiting for a small rodent to pass
within reach. Some actively seek a
vertebrate host, being guided by the sent of
the animal. After a blood meal, the engorged
larvae usually drop to the soil and molt to the
eight-legged nymph stage. The larvae of
one-host ticks remain on the host to molt.

The Nymph

The nymph has eight legs like the adult

but has no genital opening. This stage also
must undergo a critical waiting period for a
suitable host. After engorgement, the nymph
drops from the host, molts, and becomes an
adult. Nymphs may rest for long periods
before becoming adults. Some species of
hard ticks live less than one year while
others live three years or more.

The Nymph

Each time a tick leaves its host it

risks its survival on finding another host.
Some species have the advantage of
molting on the host. For example, the
cattle tick is a one-host tick. Multiplehost tick species are able to exist
because of their great reproductive
capacity and their ability to survive for
a long time without food.

The Nymph

Hard ticks have only one nymphal

instar, the nymph becoming an adult
after molting. Soft ticks may have
several nymphal instars.

The Adult

Typically, the nymph molts after

engorgement and becomes an adult. Sex
then is distinguishable for the first time as
the female hard tick differs from the male in
having a small scutum. The sex of soft
ticks may be determined by the shape of
the genital opening located between the
second pair of legs. In male soft ticks the
genital opening is almost circular, while it is
oval and definitely broader than long in
female specimens.

Unlike mosquitoes, both male and female

hard ticks are blood suckers, and both
require several days feeding before
copulation. After the male hard tick becomes
engorged, he usually copulates with one or
more females and then dies. Following
copulation, the female tick drops to the
ground. The eggs require several days to
develop. Then she begins oviposition. After
a few more days, her life's mission
accomplished, the spent female hard tick
also dies. The female soft tick may lay
several small batches of eggs but she
requires another blood meal before each
episode of oviposition.

Differences in Life Cycle (1)

hard ticks

soft ticks

L.C.

O->L->N->A

Habitat

Nymph

Free range spp.

Attack host in
the day
1 instar

O->L->N1->N2
->N3->A
Burrow
inhabiting spp.
nocternal feeder
Several (5-7)
instars

Adult feeding

1 blood meal

Intermittent
feeders (5-12 or
more)

Differences in Life Cycle (2)

hard ticks

soft ticks

Hosts

1-3 hosts

More than 10
hosts

Egg laying

Thousands /
single batch

Life span

2 months 3
years

Less than
thousand in
several batches
Long duration
(as long as 16
years)

Family Argasidae (Soft Ticks)

Various Stages of the

Pajahuello Tick

Human Reaction to Pajahuello

Tick Bite

Otobius megnini
(the spinose ear tick)

Argas sanchezi and Argas

persicus (poultry ticks)

Family Ixodidae (Hard Ticks)

Dermacentor albipictus
(the winter tick)

Dermacentor occidentalis
(Pacific Coast Tick)

Dermacentor andersoni
(Rocky Mountain Wood Tick)

Dermacentor variabilis

Ixodes pacificus

Rhipicephalus sanguineus
(Brown Dog Tick)
Adult Male (left)
and Female (right)
Brown Dog Ticks

Ticks and diseases

Tick Paralysis
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Lyme Disease (spirochaete)
Tick-borne encephalitis
Tick-borne relapsing fever
Tularemia()
Babesiosis

Photo of rash associated

with Lyme Disease