What does a fully embedded tick look like? - briefly
A fully embedded tick looks like a dark, engorged, balloon‑shaped mass with its legs hidden and its mouthparts barely protruding from the skin. The surrounding area may show a tiny puncture wound and a faint reddish halo.
What does a fully embedded tick look like? - in detail
A tick that has penetrated the skin completely displays a swollen, oval body that often resembles a tiny, darkened grain of rice. The abdomen expands dramatically as the parasite fills with blood, reaching lengths of 5–10 mm in adult females and up to 2–4 mm in nymphs. The dorsal surface appears smooth and may range from reddish‑brown to deep black, depending on species and engorgement stage. The ventral side, hidden beneath the skin, contains the capitulum—an apparatus of chelicerae and hypostome—anchored firmly in the host’s tissue.
Visible external features include:
- Six legs arranged in three pairs, each leg ending in a claw that grips the surrounding skin.
- A pair of palps, shorter than the legs, positioned near the mouthparts.
- A clear demarcation between the hardened scutum (present only on the dorsal side of adult males) and the softer, expandable abdomen.
The tick’s mouthparts remain embedded, with the hypostome’s barbed structure penetrating several millimeters into the dermis. Surrounding tissue may exhibit a small, raised ring of erythema, often called a “tick bite lesion,” which can be indistinguishable from normal skin if the tick is fully concealed.
In fully engorged specimens, the cuticle becomes thin and translucent, allowing a faint view of the internal blood meal. The tick’s overall silhouette is compact, lacking the elongated, flattened appearance seen in unattached stages. This morphology indicates successful attachment and prolonged feeding, typically lasting several days.