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==''Ixodes spp.''==
==''Ixodes spp.''==
====''Ixodes scapularis''====
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| Also known as:
| Deer tick
Shoulder tick
Black-legged tick
|-
|}
This tick is found in wooded areas throughout North America and can infect all mammals and birds but the favoured host is the Deer. It requires a high humidity in order to sruvive and so will only quest for hosts when conditions are suitable, around August and May time. This is a three host tick that takes 3 years to complete its life cycle although in this period it only feeds for about 28 days. The tick feeds once at each stage of its life, except the adult male that will feed intermittently and remain on the host to mate. Mating takes place on the host, following which the female will feed for about 14 days before being shed from the host to lay eggs in a sheltered area before dieing. The bites from ''I. scapularis'' are painful, more importantly however these ticks are the most common vector of Lyme disease in North America. These ticks are important zoonotically as the main vectors of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis.
==''Rhipicephalus spp.''==
==''Rhipicephalus spp.''==