How should you correctly refer to ticks? - briefly
Use “tick” (plural “ticks”) for the arachnid and refer to the symbol ✓ as a “tick” or “check mark,” not as a “tick mark.” Avoid interchangeable terms such as “mite” for the insect or “check” for the symbol.
How should you correctly refer to ticks? - in detail
Ticks are arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari. The scientifically accepted term for the group is “ticks,” written in lowercase unless it begins a sentence. When referring to a single specimen, use “tick”; for multiple individuals, use “ticks.” Do not capitalize the word when it appears in the middle of a sentence, as it is a common noun rather than a proper name.
When precise identification is required, employ the binomial nomenclature of the species. For example, the common deer tick is Ixodes scapularis, and the western black-legged tick is Ixodes pacificus. Italicize the genus and species names, and capitalize only the genus. If the genus is already mentioned, the species epithet may be used alone (e.g., scapularis), but retain italics.
In informal contexts, the term “mite” is sometimes applied to ticks, but this is inaccurate. Ticks are a distinct subgroup within the broader mite category; therefore, refer to them specifically as “ticks” to avoid confusion with other Acari.
When describing life stages, use the established terminology:
- Egg
- Larva (six-legged)
- Nymph (eight-legged)
- Adult (male or female)
These terms are capitalized only at the beginning of a sentence.
If the discussion involves disease transmission, the phrase “tick-borne” precedes the disease name (e.g., tick-borne encephalitis). Hyphenate “tick-borne” to indicate the vector relationship.
In summary, the correct reference to these ectoparasites follows these conventions:
- Lowercase “ticks” for the general group; capitalize only at sentence start.
- Use singular “tick” for one organism, plural “ticks” for more.
- Apply italicized Latin names for species, with genus capitalized.
- Reserve “mite” for other Acari, not for ticks.
- Use precise stage names without additional qualifiers.
- Write “tick-borne” with a hyphen when linking to diseases.