Tick

Grassy, wooded, or brushy areas; they are often found waiting on the tips of grasses and shrubs to latch onto a passing host.

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

Ticks use a behavior called 'questing' where they hold onto leaves and grass with their third and fourth pairs of legs and reach out with their first pair of legs to grab onto a host. They undergo four life stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult.

Significant risk to human and animal health as vectors for various diseases including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Anaplasmosis. They provide little known benefit to ecosystems other than serving as a food source for some birds and reptiles.