Black-legged Tick (Deer Tick)

Wooded areas, tall grass, leaf litter, and shrubs where hosts are frequent.

Blood of mammals, birds, and reptiles (hematophagous).

They practice questing, where they wait on vegetation for a host to pass by. They undergo a multi-year life cycle including larva, nymph, and adult stages.

Significant risk to humans as vectors for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis; they provide no significant benefits to human ecosystems.