Having glanced at the zoological reference book, or having opened Wikipedia, we learn that about 48 thousand ticks live on the planet. Naturally, all of them differ in size, habitat and life form, as well as varying degrees of danger to humans and other living organisms. In all this diversity, we consider the largest representatives, and find out what is the largest tick in the world, and tell you why they are dangerous to human health and life.
1
Ixodid ticks
The largest ticks in a large family live on the entire territory of our vast planet, and they can be found even among the ice of Antarctica.
Females are much larger than males, and when hungry, their length is 3-4 mm. When saturated with blood, the animal changes color to light gray and increases in size from 25 mm to 36 mm.
According to the classification, 650 subspecies of ixodid ticks, divided into 15 genera, live on Earth. They can be carriers of dangerous diseases, and the virus enters the body with saliva when bitten.
Our site TheBiggest.ru already wrote about ixodidae in his article on the most dangerous insects in the world.
2
Argasovye
The Argas tick family has more than 200 species, and they parasitize mainly on domestic animals, poultry, including humans.
Adults grow up to 3 mm, and in a saturated state increase to 30 mm. 12 species of these ticks parasitize humans, and are carriers of dangerous diseases.
They can be easily identified by the oval body, slightly narrowed in front and pale gray in color. Among their unique abilities, it should be noted that argus ticks can starve up to 11 years.
3
Gas
Perhaps one of the most common tick-borne infraorders, numbering more than 6 thousand parasitic and free-living species.
The length of the animal varies from 1 to 3 mm, but rarely individual males reach a size of 5 mm. Free-living omnivores, but parasitic species are carriers of diseases.
They mainly parasitize on birds, snakes, lizards and insects. Rarely, but cases of bites of gamasid ticks of a person are recorded. The bite is painful and causes redness and irritation on the skin.
4
Scabies
The itch mite, or, as it is also called, itch itch, is an intradermal parasite that, when it gets under the skin, causes itching in humans.
Females are slightly larger than males and grow to 0.45 mm, the body length of males does not exceed 0.23 mm, and the width is 0.19 mm. Once in the body of a person or animal, they begin to break through the moves, which cause severe irritation.
They feed on blood, and often settle on the body, where the skin is the softest, in the interdigital spaces, under the armpits and on the face.
5
Red Mites
Because of their appearance, they are also called velvet mites, since among the congeners they are distinguished by a bright, reddish-orange color of the body.
Adult representatives of this species grow from 3 to 5 mm. It is noteworthy that in the larval stage these are parasites, while adults are predators.
They are easy to spot in the garden, because among the soil mites they are the largest. For humans, red beetles are safe, and they attack mainly small insects, sucking them and eating their eggs.
6
Barn
The superfamily of arachnids has mastered not only the soil, but also the aboveground part of plants, animal burrows, bird nests and, of course, farm buildings.
The body length of barn ticks is from 0.2 to 0.51 mm, and the superfamily includes 6 species. Due to the fact that most often they start in cereals, they are often called flour or bread parasites.
These are real pests of crops, and when they get into the human respiratory tract, they cause asthma and allergies.
7
Dust
They settle in people's homes, and their presence causes a person to have allergies and other disorders. Mostly affect the skin and respiratory tract.
They grow no more than 0.4 mm, and are distributed throughout the globe. They live in mattresses, climb into corners, and are the main causative agents of asthma. It is interesting that children living in rural areas are less prone to allergic effects in contact with dust mites than children living in urban areas.
Often they settle in pillows, carpets, they can even be found in books. They feed on dead skin particles, and their excrement most often causes allergies.
8
Demodexes
Demodexes, or zheleznitsy, belong to the type of parasitic ticks, and they grow from 0.3 to 0.4 mm.
Today, zoological science knows 65 species of such ticks, two of which Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis, most often parasitize on the human body. They live in the sebaceous glands on the face of a person, but can also be found on other parts of the body.
Usually their presence does not cause trouble, but a large accumulation of these ticks causes demodicosis, accompanied by allergies and inflammation.
9
Shell Mites
Relatively large mites, growing to 1.4 mm, and living on all continents of the planet. They inhabit mainly in the soil, and the life cycle from larva to adult proceeds from several months to 2 years.
Basically, they do not pose a danger to humans, but some species can be infected with dangerous diseases that, when bitten, are transmitted to humans.
There are more than 6.5 thousand species and about 11 thousand subspecies, and therefore shell mites are one of the most common biological species that live in the soil layers of the Earth.
10
Feather
Our top 10 is closed by ticks belonging to the superfamily Analgesoidea, and most often found in the plumage of birds. But they can also settle in feather pillows, and then the danger emanating from them will be very close.
The size of the body varies from 0.2 to 0.5 mm, and each subspecies selects a particular habitat. The body itself is flat, oval in shape. Settling on a domestic or wild bird, they cause the disease of epidermoptosis.
Due to their small size, they are difficult to detect, therefore, special laboratory tests with affected skin areas are performed to identify them.
Champions ...
Pictured: Amblyomma mites
- The largest tick that appeared on the pages of the Guinness Book of Records was 3.6 cm in size. This Ixodid tick of the genus Amblyomma can lay up to 20 thousand eggs in a single laying.
- Female ixodid ticks are the largest, since their fertility directly depends on the amount of blood absorbed from the victim.
- In 2015, a new type of soil tick was discovered on the shores of Lake Baikal, which was called Tyumen. Adults grow up to 1.4 mm, and feed mainly on plant debris. In a saturated state, ticks reach a size of 30 mm, although in a hungry state they can not even be seen among the grass, or on your body. But with blood, it resembles both the size and shape of a small fruit seed.
- The mite Paratarsotomus macropalpis, living in the vastness of South Africa, is the absolute champion in relative speed of movement, covering 322 lengths of its own body in 1 second. For example, a cheetah during this same time overcomes a distance of 16 of its own lengths.
In conclusion, we note that ticks are among the most dangerous and bloodthirsty representatives of the terrestrial fauna, and when bitten, it is better to immediately seek medical help. It is interesting that the distant ancestors of ticks were much larger than their current relatives, but during the course of evolution, adapting to new living conditions, they significantly decreased in size.
Article author: Valery Skiba