Tick Investigation
Aim
To describe the niche of a tick by;
· Studying it anatomically
· Describing it’s lifestyle
· Describing it’s life cycle
· Explaining how it has adapted
· And what diseases it carries and spreads
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An introduction to ticks
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The tick is not an insect but is part of the arachnid family.
Ticks are divided into two main families, soft ticks (Argasidae) and
hard ticks (Ixodidae). The scientific name of the tick that I am
studying is Ixodes Canisuga, it has a sclerotizeddorsal plate
(scutum), an oval or pair shaped outline, and their mouthparts are
visible from the dorsal view.
Habitat
The ticks habitat must satisfy two essential requirements for tick
survival.
1. The environment must have a sufficiently humid environment for the
ticks to maintain water balance.
2. A mix of animal species to act as hosts for each stage of tick
development (explained in the life cycle section).
Ticks are also vulnerable to desiccation during periods in between
hosting (questing), and the development phase.
During questing and developing, ticks can get their water from
ingesting hydroscopic liquid. This enables ticks to maintain a stable
water balance as long as humidity in their microclimate doesn’t fall
below 80%.
Therefore ticks can only survive in the questing areas where a good
cover of vegetation and a matt of decaying matter is available. This
is why ticks are commonly found in fields and grassy areas when it has
rained recently. Ironically although ticks need an extremely high
water percentage to survive, they cannot sur...
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...n the
feeding process.
Adaptations
As mentioned before, the hyposome anchors the tick to the host, and
the chelicerae help to keep the blood flowing, but ticks also have
anticoagulant in their saliva glands. This stops the blood clotting
making it easy for the blood to flow. The tick also has elasticized
skin so that it can expand whilst feeding on blood.
The diseases that ticks carry
Ticks carry the disease Borrelia, also known as lyme disease. This
disease causes relapsing fevers. This disease is passed on because the
bacterium migrates from the gut to the salivary glands. So when the
mite feeds, the saliva containing the bacterium is passed through to
the host.
They also carry encephalitis, a viral infection which is less common,
but deadly. Encephalitis causes inflammation of the brain.
In “Star-nosed Mole,” author Sean Zera writes an interesting article about the Star-nosed Mole. His article’s purpose is to inform readers many intriguing facts about the Star-nosed Mole. Some questions Zera answers in his article are what do they look like, where do they live, what do they eat, and even how do they communicate with each other. His article is great because he explains almost everything about the Star-nosed Mole. Another thing Zera does that strengthens his article is he has categories that will ask a common question and then under that category he answer that question and supply an abundance of facts that help support his answer. The only two things that weakens his article is the lack of pictures and a comparison to a regular
The narrative structure in Plague of Doves is complex to the same degree that it’s
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The narrator in The Flea is a youthful man trying to convince a young woman to give her virginity to him. He tries to do this by comparing their relationship to a flea that is in the room. The flea bites them both and Donne explains to her that this is symbolic of both of their worlds combining into one. He says that the flea is now the realm of love, lust, and marriage. At first this poem seems to be just about love, commitment from a male to a female, who says no his lustful desires. However, a deeper look than just the superficial reveals that the male in this poem is actually revealing a valid point to his lady: that the loss of innocence, such as her virginity, does not constitute a loss of her honor.
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electric fence ticks like the slow heart of something we fed and bedded for a
In this present paper I will explain a basic knowledge of the application of Forensic Entomology to death investigations and the basic understanding of the methods for the collection and procedures at a crime scene investigation. For crime scene investigators a general knowledge of the appearance of insects with forensic importance is helpful to the investigator. Forensic entomology is the use of insect evidence found in crime scenes for legal investigations. Forensic entomologists assist homicide investigations by estimating the time of death using information on the biology and ecology of insects. Insects play an important role in the natural decomposition process of decaying flesh and, therefore, are inherently attracted to a decomposing
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