How much blood can a tick ingest? - briefly
A fully engorged adult tick can ingest up to approximately «0.5 ml» of blood, which corresponds to about 10–20 % of its body weight. This amount represents the maximum intake before the tick detaches from the host.
How much blood can a tick ingest? - in detail
Ticks acquire nutrients exclusively from host blood. Engorgement capacity varies among developmental stages and species, reflecting differences in body size and reproductive demands.
• Larvae: typical intake 0.02 µL (approximately 0.02 mg) per feeding episode.
• Nymphs: average volume 0.1 µL (0.1 mg), with occasional peaks up to 0.2 µL.
• Adult females: most substantial intake, ranging from 0.5 µL to 1.0 µL (0.5–1.0 mg). Some large ixodid species, such as Dermacentor variabilis, may reach 1.2 µL under optimal conditions.
• Adult males: limited intake, generally 0.1–0.3 µL, sufficient for maintenance rather than reproduction.
Several factors modulate the amount of blood a tick can draw:
- Host size and blood pressure: larger mammals provide higher flow rates, enabling greater volume transfer.
- Attachment duration: prolonged attachment (several days) allows the tick to reach full engorgement; premature detachment truncates intake.
- Ambient temperature: warmer environments accelerate tick metabolism, shortening feeding time but not necessarily reducing total volume.
- Species‑specific morphology: mouthpart length and cuticular elasticity dictate maximum abdominal expansion.
In extreme cases, an engorged adult female of the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) can increase body mass by more than 100‑fold, indicating blood volumes approaching 1.5 µL. Such intake supplies the nutrients required for egg production, with a single female capable of laying up to 7,000 eggs after a single feeding event.
Overall, blood volume acquisition by ticks spans from a few hundred nanoliters in immature stages to roughly one microliter in fully engorged adult females, with species‑specific variations driven by host interaction and environmental conditions.