Engorged Tick (specifically an Ixodid or Hard Tick)

Wooded areas, tall grasses, shrubs, and leaf litter where they wait for hosts.

Obligate hematophagy; they feed exclusively on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles.

Ticks use 'questing' to find hosts, clinging to vegetation and reaching out with their legs to grab passing animals. They undergo four life stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult.

Significant health risk; they are vectors for diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Anaplasmosis. They offer no notable benefits to humans or ecosystems and are considered major pests.