How many eggs does a tick lay? - briefly
Female ticks typically lay several hundred to a few thousand eggs, with most species producing 500–3,000, while some can exceed 5,000. Egg numbers vary according to species, host quality, and environmental conditions.
How many eggs does a tick lay? - in detail
Ticks are arachnids that reproduce by laying eggs after a blood meal. A single female typically deposits a batch ranging from a few hundred to several thousand eggs, depending on species, size, and feeding conditions.
- Ixodes scapularis (black‑legged tick): 1 000–2 000 eggs per clutch.
- Rhipicephalus (brown dog tick): 2 000–5 000 eggs.
- Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick): 2 500–5 500 eggs.
- Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick): 2 000–4 000 eggs.
Clutch size correlates with the engorgement weight of the female; larger blood meals result in higher egg counts. Environmental temperature and humidity affect embryonic development time, typically 10–30 days, but do not substantially alter the number of eggs produced.
After oviposition, eggs hatch into six-legged larvae that seek a host, beginning the multi‑stage life cycle: larva → nymph → adult. Each female may lay only one egg batch in her lifetime, as mating occurs once after the final molt. Mortality rates among eggs and early stages are high, often exceeding 90 %, which compensates for the relatively modest fecundity compared with insects that lay thousands of eggs.