Stats

Lifespan

2-3 yrs

Size

Tiny

Diet

Carnivore

Activity

Cathemeral

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Climbing

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Armor

Status

Uncommon

About

Also called the deer tick, this arachnid is the primary carrier of Lyme disease in eastern North America. Its poppy-seed-sized nymphs are the hardest to spot and cause most human infections, often picked up brushing through backyard leaf litter or tall grass.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg sac

   A silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
2. 2.
   juvenile

   A spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
3. 3.
   subadult

   A near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown after its final molt.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Arachnida

Order

Ixodida

Family

Ixodidae

Genus

Ixodes

Species

Ixodes scapularis