A tick feeding on a human leg. Ticks are arachnids which parasitise mammals, birds and reptiles, feeding on their blood. This is a female of the family Ixodidae, showing the hard chitinous 'scutum' over the dorsal anterior of the body. In the male the scutum covers the entire dorsal surface; in the female and the larva it is reduced to permit the body to swell during feeding. In the feeding process the scissor-like action of the modified mouthparts is followed by the thrusting of the hypostome through the lacerated skin, and locking of the teeth into the tissues. Ticks can transmit diseases such as relapsing fever and Lyme disease and their bites may become infected.

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