What do ticks feed on and how do they reproduce? - briefly
Ticks are blood‑feeding arachnids that attach to mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians to obtain a plasma meal, and after engorgement the female deposits thousands of eggs in the environment; the offspring develop through larval, nymphal and adult stages, each requiring a separate blood meal to progress.
What do ticks feed on and how do they reproduce? - in detail
Ticks are obligate hematophages; every active stage—larva, nymph, adult—requires a blood meal from a vertebrate host. Larvae typically attach to small mammals, birds, or reptiles; nymphs expand the host range to medium‑sized mammals and ground‑dwelling birds; adults, especially females, prefer larger mammals such as deer, cattle, or humans. Feeding involves insertion of the hypostome into the skin, secretion of anticoagulant and immunomodulatory compounds, and ingestion of plasma and cellular components over several days. Male ticks may feed briefly or not at all, focusing on locating mates rather than nutrient acquisition.
Reproductive biology proceeds as follows:
- Mating on the host – After a nymphal or adult female attaches and begins to engorge, a male climbs onto the same host and transfers sperm through the genital opening.
- Spermatophore formation – In many species, males deposit a spermatophore that the female absorbs; in others, direct copulation occurs.
- Detachment and egg development – A fully engorged female drops off the host, seeks a protected microhabitat, and digests the blood meal to produce yolk.
- Oviposition – The female lays thousands of eggs in a moist substrate, often within a few weeks; after laying, she dies.
- Egg incubation – Temperature and humidity dictate embryonic development time; hatchlings emerge as six-legged larvae ready to seek a first host.
Some ixodid species exhibit facultative parthenogenesis, allowing unfertilized females to produce viable offspring, though sexual reproduction remains predominant. Environmental cues such as photoperiod and host availability regulate the timing of each life‑stage transition, ensuring synchronization with seasonal host activity.
Overall, ticks depend on successive blood meals for growth and for the production of large egg batches, and their reproductive cycle is tightly linked to host interactions and environmental conditions.