MITES. 203 



and holds on fast. Ticks are chiefly found in sandy 

 soil, among bashes and shrubs, or among herbs. As 

 long as they remain on the ground they are tolerably 

 small (jIq inch) and very active. They creep up 

 haulms and branches, and rest in a suitable spot till a 

 mammal or bird passes, when they attach themselves 

 to its hair or feathers by their legs, and bore into its 

 skin with their sharp mouth parts. Having thus 

 fixed themselves, they suck the blood 

 of their temporary host. The walls of 

 their stomach and intestine are ex- 

 tremely elastic, so that the tick, which 

 at first is only about one-tenth of an 

 inch long and one-sixteenth of an inch fig. ij?.— The Dog rick 



■1 J i_ T.- (Ixodes 1-icinus). 



broad, becomes as big as a pea, or even ^ 

 a garden bean. When the tick has sucked itself as full 

 as possible, it withdraws its mouth parts from the skin 

 of its host for the time being, and lets itself fall to the 

 ground, where it lies for many weeks without feeding. 

 The small and feeble legs of the tick are not able 

 to move the heavy, blood-fiUed body, and movements 

 do not take place for some time, till the greater part 

 of the imbibed blood has been digested and the tick 

 has shrunk once more to its normal size. What has 

 been said about the habits refers only to the female ; 

 the much smaller male never seems to pierce mammals, 

 and its food is not known. In pairing, it is found 

 attached to the under side of the female, remaining 

 there several days, even when the female is fixed to 

 the host. Egg-laying does not take place till the 

 host is quitted. As ticks draw blood from their host 

 their presence, in spite of the fact that they remain 

 but a short time, is not a matter of indifference, 

 especially if large numbers affix themselves to one 

 animal. Sheep and cattle become thin if daily 

 attacked in the meadows by many ticks. The 

 piercing of the skin causes a stinging sensation, 

 followed later on by itching of the parts to which the 



