Black-legged Tick (also known as Deer Tick)

Wooded areas, brushy fields, and tall grass where animal hosts frequent.

Obligate blood-feeders, consuming blood from mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles.

They are 'questing' parasites that wait on vegetation to latch onto passing hosts; they undergo four life stages over roughly two years.

Primary vector for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis in North America; they provide food for some birds and reptiles but are considered significant public health pests.