How do you retrieve a tick's legs? - briefly
«Use fine‑point tweezers to grasp each leg as close to the body as possible and pull steadily until it separates, or insert a fine needle beneath the leg to lift it off without damaging the specimen».
How do you retrieve a tick's legs? - in detail
Retrieving the legs of a tick requires careful handling to preserve morphological details and avoid contamination. The process consists of three main phases: specimen acquisition, preservation, and dissection.
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Specimen acquisition
• Collect live ticks from host animals or vegetation using fine‑tipped forceps.
• Transfer each specimen to a labeled vial containing a moist cotton plug to maintain humidity. -
Preservation
• Submerge the tick in 70 % ethanol for at least 24 hours; ethanol stabilizes protein structures and prevents decay.
• After fixation, rinse briefly in distilled water to remove excess alcohol. -
Dissection
• Place the tick on a dissecting microscope stage with a drop of glycerol to improve visibility.
• Using a stereomicroscope, grip the dorsal shield with a pair of fine forceps.
• Insert a micro‑scalpel at the junction of the coxae and gently separate each leg segment from the body.
• Transfer the detached legs to a clean micro‑slide; add a drop of mounting medium (e.g., Hoyer’s solution) and cover with a coverslip for subsequent microscopic examination.
Throughout the procedure, maintain a clean work surface, replace gloves frequently, and label all containers with collection data (date, location, host species). This systematic approach yields intact tick legs suitable for morphological analysis, DNA extraction, or chemical testing.