Female Ixodes scapularis tick was in the process of laying her clutch of eggs. After feeding, an adult Ixodes scapularis female lays approximately 2, 000, 4, 000 eggs. Ixodes scapularis is commonly known as the deer tick or blacklegged tick, and in some parts of the USA as the bear tick. It is a hard-bodied tick (family Ixodidae) of the eastern and northern Midwestern United States. It is a vector for several diseases of animals, including humans (Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Powassan virus disease, etc.) and is known as the deer tick owing to its habit of parasitizing the white-tailed deer. It is also known to parasitize mice, lizards, migratory birds, etc. especially while the tick is in the larval or nymphal stage. |