Ticks belong to the class of arachnids and to the subclass of mites. This can be recognized by the eight legs of adult ticks. The tick is a highly specialized animal that is excellently adapted to its environment in terms of body structure and behavior. It is a parasite and – like the mosquito – needs a host, i.e. other living beings. They feed on their blood.
Which ticks are found in Germany?
The University of Hohenheim reports that the tick species common wood tick (Ixodes ricinus) and the alluvial forest tick (Dermacentor reticulatus) are widespread in Germany and potential carriers of the disease. But tropical tick species have also come to Germany via migratory birds and are on the rise. Tropical ticks can transmit the tick spotted fever disease – the extent to which the ticks will establish themselves here and thus pose a threat depends on the climatic conditions in the coming years.
Does the tick bite or sting?
The tick tears with its scissor-like mouthparts (Cheliceren) the skin of the host, e.g. humans. With their “sting”, i.e. proboscis (Hypostom) she digs a small pit in the tissue, which fills with blood. The tick repeatedly sucks off the blood that flows in afterwards. The tick releases an anesthetic with its saliva as it bites with its proboscis. This is why the host may not immediately (and often not at all) notice a tick bite, even though the tick’s stinger is much thicker and coarser than a mosquito’s stinger.
When is the tick fed up?
Compared to mosquitoes, ticks suck a lot of blood until they are finally full. In some cases they are only saturated after 15 days. The tick grows as it sucks up blood and can weigh up to 200 times more than when hungry.
How do ticks develop?
The development of a tick begins when a larva hatches from an egg. The larvae of the tick are white and up to 0.5 mm in size. In contrast to ticks in the other stages of development, they only have 3 pairs of legs. The fourth pair of legs grows only after the blood meal. They mainly attack small mammals to suck blood. After the first blood meal, the larva leaves its host and sheds its skin over a maturing period of several weeks to become what is known as a nymph. The sexless nymphs, like the larvae, spend some time living in the wild before they look for another host for the next blood meal.
After the meal, the nymphs develop into sexually mature ticks. The female ticks suck blood again in the adult stage. The females need the host’s blood to produce around 3,000 eggs. A female tick can suckle for up to 10 days before voluntarily letting go of its victim. The male tick can fertilize the female’s eggs without another blood meal.
Why does the tick change when it sucks blood?
The tick sucks the blood directly into its intestines. This is particularly stretchy, so that the saturated tick grows and changes its shape completely. Once the tick is full, it will drop off its host.
How long do ticks live?
A tick can survive for a very long time on a blood meal. Under test conditions in the laboratory, ticks that had previously sucked blood could survive for up to ten years without any other food. In the wild, for example, the common woodbuck lives an average of three to five years. However, male ticks only live until after mating, females die after laying their eggs.
When are ticks active?
The German Forest Protection Association (SDW) is currently pointing out that ticks can be active all year round. On the one hand, this is due to the longer vegetation phase with milder winters – favored by climate change – but on the other hand, fattening years in the forests are also responsible for this. Because if vertebrates such as mice and other hosts of the tick benefit from a large supply of food, the tick also benefits.
In an interview with SWR, Ulrich Matthes, head of the Rhineland-Palatinate Competence Center for the Consequences of Climate Change, confirmed that climate change favors the way ticks live. Ticks are active from 7 °C, they feel most comfortable at temperatures between 15 and 25 °C.
