What do ticks that are on a person eat? - briefly
Ticks that have attached to a human draw their nutrition exclusively from the host’s blood, which they ingest through a specialized feeding apparatus. Each meal provides only a small volume of blood, sufficient to support the tick’s growth and reproductive development.
What do ticks that are on a person eat? - in detail
Ticks that attach to a human obtain nourishment exclusively from the host’s blood. During attachment the parasite inserts its hypostome, a barbed feeding tube, and draws liquid and cellular components from the circulatory system. The ingested material includes plasma, erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets, providing proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and iron required for growth and reproduction.
The feeding process varies by life stage:
- Larva: consumes a few microliters of blood, sufficient for molting to the nymphal stage.
- Nymph: takes a larger volume, often several hundred microliters, supporting development into an adult.
- Adult female: engorges for up to ten days, ingesting up to 200 mg of blood, which fuels egg production.
- Adult male: feeds intermittently, obtaining enough nutrients to sustain activity but not to reproduce.
Saliva injected during the meal contains anticoagulants, anti‑inflammatory agents and immunomodulators that prevent clotting and reduce host detection. These compounds enable prolonged feeding without interruption. The blood meal also serves as a vehicle for pathogen transmission; bacteria, viruses or protozoa present in the host’s blood can be acquired and later transmitted to subsequent hosts.
After detachment, the tick stores the blood in the midgut, where digestive enzymes break down proteins and other macromolecules over weeks. The resulting nutrients are allocated to tissue growth, egg development (in females) and energy reserves for the next questing period.
In summary, human‑attached ticks feed on the full spectrum of blood constituents, using specialized mouthparts and pharmacologically active saliva to secure a continuous supply that supports development, reproduction and disease transmission.