HOW WILL ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICK BENEFIT THE VETERINARIAN? 27 
After egg-laying is completed the tick dies in a few days. 
The eggs are small, elliptical-shaped bodies, at first of a light 
amber color, later changing to a dark brown, and are about one- 
fiftieth of an inch in length, and are covered with a sticky secre¬ 
tion. 
After a time, ranging from 6 days in summer to 188 days 
during the fall and winter, the eggs begin to hatch. From each 
egg issues a small, oval, six-legged larvae or seed tick. The seed 
tick usually remains more or less quiescent for several days, after 
which it shows great activity, ascends the nearby vegetation'and 
collects on leaves. The seed tick during its life in the pasture 
takes no food, and consequently does not increase in size, and 
unless it reaches a host to take up the parasitic portion of its de¬ 
velopment dies of starvation. The endurance of seed ticks is 
very great, however, as they have been found to live nearly 
eight months during the colder part of the year. 
Development on Cattle .—The parasitic phase of development 
begins when the larvae or seed ticks reach a favorable host, such 
as the cow. They usually attach themselves to the skin of the 
escutcheon, the inside of the leg and flanks and to the dewlap-. 
They at once begin to draw blood and soon increase in size. In 
from 5 to 12 days we have a molting stage. The new form has 
eight legs instead of six and is known as a nymph. In from 5 to 
11 days after the first molt the tick again sheds its skin and be¬ 
comes sexually mature. It is at this stage that males and females 
are with certainty distinguishable for the first time. 
The male emerges from his skin as a brown, oval tick, about 
one-tenth of an inch in length. He has reached his growth and 
goes through no further development. He later shows great 
activity, moving about more or less over the skin of the host. 
The female is slightly larger and seldom moves far from the 
original point of attachment. 
After mating, the female increases very rapidly in size, and 
in from 21 to 66 days after attaching to the host as a seed tick 
she becomes fully engorged and drops to the ground, to repeat 
the cycle of development. 
