|
|
Engorged adult female Ixodes ricinus,
6.4 mm
26/7/08
|
Engorged adult female Ixodes ricinus,
6.4 mm
26/7/08
|
|
|
Engorged adult female Ixodes ricinus,
6.4 mm
- ventral view (on its back)
26/7/08
|
Engorged nymph Ixodes ricinus, 3.2 mm
- no porose areas and no genital opening
Ventral view -
26/7/08
|
|
LEFT - Showing the paired chelicerae (yellow
arrows), each with
4 or 5 teeth on each side of the barbed hypostome - these are used for cutting the skin prior to attachment and feeding.
This is the ventral view - the chelicerae are actually on the dorsal surface.
The photograph width covers 500 micrometers =
0.5 mm. On a computer screen set to display at 800x 600 pixels, it measures
137 mm in width. This represents a magnification on screen of x274.
The length of the teeth of the chelicerae
on screen measures 5 mm. This indicates their real length as being
18 micrometers, 0.018 mm or approximately 1/50th mm. The tip diameter
is smaller (approximately 1 mm, giving a real diameter of 3.6
mm or 1/250
mm) which probably enables it to cut through the skin unnoticed.
|
Tick 11 - 1.36 mm nymph.
|
Tick 11 - View of ends of the palps
|
Tick 12 - 1.54 mm nymph - dorsal view.
|
Tick 12 - Ventral view - no genital aperture
(the black spot is a 'spot'/tubercle)
|
Ixodes ricinus larvae with scale (e.g.
'0' to '10'
= 1 mm)
|
Ticks 31-36 Ixodes hexagonus - the
Hedgehog Tick, all six from one hedgehog |
Tick 35 - female Ixodes hexagonus -
Hedgehog tick 5.2 mm
|
25 ticks from one hedgehog, note range of
colours
including six 6-legged larvae
(click image to see a larger version, press F11, twice) |
Ticks 59-64 - 6 legs - larvae - from a
Hedgehog
with 25 Ticks altogether, from unfed to engorged.
Sizes: 0.76 to 1.60 mm
|
Ticks 71-82 from a hedgehog: 9 females
(6.08-10.56 mm) and 3 nymphs (2.56-2.72 mm), in stages of engorgement.
|
Forty-seven Hedgehog Ticks taken from a sheepdog.
NB - NOT Sheep Ticks! This needs more attention.
Note the small male tick at top right.
Click on the image to see a larger version
- press F11 to see it properly and F11 again afterwards, then the back
arrow to return to this page.
|
Tick 146 Sheep Tick larva - Ixodes ricinus -
0.8 mm long.
NB - six legs only - nymphs & adults have eight.
c/o Mark Fenlon, Ingra Tor/Leedon Tor. 18 Sep. 2008. |
Ixodes ricinus - Ticks 150 &
151 mating.
The female is 5.52 mm and the male is 2.24 mm long.
NB - the engorged female has no mouthparts - these must have been left in the dog
they were taken from.
|
Ixodes ricinus - Ticks 150 &
151 mating - side view.
Note the extreme thinness of the (unfed?) male tick - It is approximately 0.3 mm
(1/75 inch) thick, which is why they are not easily noticed when they attach to humans.
|
Tick 155 - Sheep Tick - Ixodes ricinus
- female- 4.80 mm.
Note the missing central mouthpart component - the barbed 'hypostome' -
presumably left in the dog the tick was removed from.
|
Tick 155 in close-up. A different view of the
mouthparts minus the hypostome. The pointed internal spurs of coxae I (the
basal part of the 1st pair of legs) are visible and the left external spur is
also seen. The genital aperture is seen between the 4th pair of legs. |
Seventy-two hedgehog ticks (Ixodes
hexagonus) taken from two sheep dogs from the Burrator region.
Click on the image to see a larger version
- press F11 to see it properly and F11 again afterwards, then the back
arrow to return to this page.
|
Close-up ventral view of the mouthparts of a
hedgehog tick (Tick 209) showing the two palps at either side with the
hypostome in the centre. The palps terminate in sensory organs which bear a
tuft of setae (hairs).
|
Close-up view of a sheep tick hypostome from
Tick 249. This is the barbed structure which anchors the tick while it is
feeding and which makes it difficult to remove.
|
Close-up view of the pair of chelicerae that
lay dorsally to the hypostome - they are extended to cut into the host skin.
A photo above measures their length as being
18 micrometers, 0.018 mm or approximately 1/50th mm. The tip diameter
is smaller (approximately 3.6
mm or 1/250
mm) which probably enables it to cut through the skin unnoticed.
|
Showing 146 sheep ticks (Ticks 351-497) after
killing and cleaning. Collected from sheep just brought in off the moor for
the winter. The dish on the right shows six mating pairs - a 7th pair were
found afterwards.
|
Seven mating pairs of sheep ticks (Ticks
484-497) found in the 146 ticks in the photo above.
|
Mating pair of sheep ticks in close-up.
|
Side view of a springtail collected at the
same time as some Ixodes ricinus (Sheep tick) nymphs on 22 Dec 2008.
The "spring tail" appendage, at right, normally under the abdomen, is
extended after freezing overnight. |
Dorsal view of a springtail - approximately
the same size and colour as nymphs collected on 22 Dec. The forked "spring
tail" appendage is at the left. The overall length in this view,
excluding the front appendages, is 1.41 mm. |