Forest tick
The first active adult forest ticks (taiga) appear in early or mid-April, when the sun begins to warm up and the first thawed patches form in the forest. The number of ticks increases rapidly, reaching a maximum by the beginning of the second ten days of May, and remains high until the middle or end of June, depending on the weather. Then it sharply decreases due to the extinction of ticks, whose reserve nutrients are depleted. However, single active parasites can be found until the end of September.
Ticks lie in wait for their prey, sitting on the ends of blades of grass, blades of grass, sticks and twigs sticking up.
When a potential victim approaches, ticks assume a posture of active anticipation: they extend their front legs and move them from side to side. On the front legs there are organs that perceive odors (Haller's organ). Thus, the tick determines the direction towards the source of the smell and prepares to attack the host.
Forest ticks are not particularly mobile; they can travel no more than ten meters on their own in their lifetime. A tick lying in wait for its prey climbs a blade of grass or a bush to a height of no more than half a meter and patiently waits for someone to pass by. If an animal or person moves in close proximity to a tick, its reaction will be immediate. With his front legs spread out, he frantically tries to grab his future owner. The legs are equipped with claws and suction cups, which allow the tick to grip securely. No wonder there is a saying: “He grabbed like a tick.”
With the help of hooks that are located at the very end of the front legs, the forest tick clings to everything that touches it. Ixodid ticks (European forest tick and taiga tick) never pounce and never fall (do not plan) on the victim from above from trees or tall bushes: ticks simply cling to their victim, who passes by and touches the blade of grass (stick) on which the tick sits.
Having settled on the animal, the tick chooses a place to feed. In most cases, this is the area of the head and neck, where the animal cannot reach with its teeth and destroy the parasite. Then it plunges its mouth parts (the so-called proboscis) into the skin and, cutting through it, reaches the subcutaneous blood vessels, from where it sucks blood. The teeth on the proboscis, directed backwards, and the first portion of saliva, which quickly hardens and glues the oral organs to the skin, like cement, help it securely gain a foothold.
Female forest ticks feed for about 6 days, absorbing an incredible amount of blood, more than a hundred times the weight of a hungry individual. When feeding, large amounts of saliva are released into the wound, with which infectious agents (tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme Borreliosis) can enter the host’s body.
Males attach themselves for a short time; they are mainly busy searching for feeding females with whom they mate.