What does a taiga tick feed on? - briefly
«Taiga tick» larvae and nymphs mainly ingest the blood of small mammals such as voles, lemmings, and ground‑dwelling rodents, while adults may also feed on birds. Larger mammals, including moose, can serve as occasional hosts during later life stages.
What does a taiga tick feed on? - in detail
The taiga tick obtains nutrition exclusively from the blood of vertebrate hosts. Its life cycle comprises three active stages—larva, nymph, and adult—each requiring a separate blood meal.
Larval stage:
- Small mammals such as voles, bank voles, and field mice.
- Ground‑dwelling birds, particularly passerines that forage near the forest floor.
Nymphal stage:
- Same small mammals as larvae, with increased preference for larger rodents like ground squirrels.
- Juvenile birds, including thrushes and warblers.
- Occasionally amphibians when available in moist microhabitats.
Adult stage:
- Medium to large mammals, notably moose, elk, red deer, and reindeer, which provide sufficient blood volume for reproduction.
- Carnivores such as wolves and brown bears, especially during late summer when they frequent tick‑infested areas.
- Domestic livestock (sheep, cattle) and, rarely, humans that enter the tick’s habitat.
Feeding occurs during the warm months when questing behavior is most intense. Larvae emerge in early summer, nymphs in midsummer, and adults in late summer to early autumn. Each stage attaches to the host’s skin, inserts its mouthparts, and ingests blood for several days before detaching to molt or lay eggs. The tick’s diet, confined to blood, supports growth, development, and pathogen acquisition, which it can transmit to subsequent hosts.