Ticks – AbdoZoom

Ticks

There are 850 species of ticks. Some ticks have soft bodies. Other ticks have hard bodies. All ticks have special mouths. They use their mouths to hold on to their host’s skin.

Ticks have eight legs. They have oval-shaped bodies. Ticks can be dark brown. They can also be reddish brown. Some ticks are very small. Others are more than one inch (2.5 cm) long.

Ticks live anywhere they can find a host. So they can be found all over the world. Ticks often live in wooded areas. They also live in grasslands. Some ticks live in the desert.

Ticks eat blood. They use their mouthpart to cut their host’s skin. Another mouthpart works like a straw. Ticks use it to drink their host’s blood. Some ticks eat from the same animal their whole life.

Female hard ticks lay eggs once. Then they die. Female soft ticks lay eggs many times. Ticks go through metamorphosis. Most hard ticks live less than one year. Some soft ticks can live for ten years.