Ticks are parasitic arachnids of the order Ixodida. They live by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. They’ve been around for a long time; the oldest known tick fossils are from the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years old.

I’d never heard of the American dog tick (or wood tick) till I brought one home on my neck last weekend. They mostly live east of the Rocky Mountains. Dermacentor variabilis is a three-host tick—the larva, nymph and adult all need to ingest blood.

Some ticks attach to their host rapidly, while others wander around searching for thinner skin, such as that in the ears of mammals. Mine was obviously still on the hunt for a good feeding site. Reading up on tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, I’m glad I removed it before it latched on!